SOL Testing Results 2022: How Loudoun County Schools Performed

LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA — The Virginia Department of Education released Standards of Learning standardized test results for 2022 Thursday showing some improvements from last year's scores but lower numbers than pre-pandemic testing. Loudoun County Public Schools had pass rates above the Virginia average in the five subject areas and increased test scores over the previous year.

The LCPS pass rate of 80 percent for reading was above the Virginia average of 73 percent. The school division's pass rate is up from 79 percent in 2021, which reflects reduced student participation due to COVID-19 impacts to testing. However, the school system has yet to return to the 84 percent pass rate it had for reading in 2019, the last year there was full participation.

In math, the LCPS pass rate was 74 percent, compared to 66 percent for Virginia. The pass rate in 2021 for LCPS was 64 percent, which reflects reduced student participation. However, the latest math pass rate is down from 87 percent in 2019.

In science, LCPS had a 75 percent pass rate, compared to a state average of 65 percent. The 2021 pass rate had been 72 percent for LCPS and 59 percent for Virginia. The 2019 science pass rate for LCPS was 88 percent.

LCPS also outperformed the state in writing (81 percent compared to Virginia's 65 percent) and history (81 percent compared to Virginia's 66 percent). History and writing results are not available for 2021 due to widespread use of local assessments for writing and history.

“I am extremely encouraged by these results,” said LCPS Superintendent Scott Ziegler. “Not only did our SOL scores improve or remain stable, they did so while seeing a significant increase in the number of students participating in SOL testing. I am also heartened that students with disabilities and English learners scored above the state average on these assessments."

In Loudoun County, English learners and students with disabilities performed better on test than the Virginia average. Students with disabilities had a 50 percent pass rate on English reading tests and a 45 percent pass rate on math tests. English language learners in Loudoun County had a 36 percent pass rate on reading SOLs and a 40 percent pass rate on the math exams.

"While it’s too soon to say that the learning loss brought about by the pandemic has been overcome, or that academic life has returned completely to normal, I think these scores reflect the outstanding effort and commitment to excellence our teachers and staff have made on behalf of LCPS students," Ziegler said on Thursday. "Knowing that we can never be complacent about academic achievement, we will analyze the data and make adjustments as necessary, and I think these test scores show that Loudoun County Public Schools is heading in the right direction."

On the state level, Gov. Glenn Youngkin's Department of Education pointed to the impact of school closures as a factor in SOL results. According to research by the nonprofit NWEA, a period of three to five years is expected for recovery of pandemic learning loss.

All 132 school divisions in Virginia were back to in-person learning in the 2021-2022 school year and normal testing levels for the 2022 SOL. In 2021, SOL tests were impacted by testing opt-outs granted to students due to the COVID-19 pandemic. SOL testing had been canceled in the 2019-2020 school year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"When we compare the 2021-2022 data with achievement in 2020-2021 — when the majority of our students were learning remotely or on hybrid schedules — we can see the difference our teachers made once they were reunited with their students in their classrooms," said Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow in a statement. "I want to thank all of our teachers for everything they did last year to begin what will be a multiyear recovery effort."

However, the Virginia Department of Education noted changes in pass rates between 2021-2022 and 2018-2019, the last time Virginia had regular SOL testing participation. The overall pass rate in math for all students fell from 82 percent in 2019 to 66 percent in 2022. The percentage drops were even higher for some student groups — 70 percent to 49 percent for Black students, 74 percent to 53 percent for Hispanic students, 72 percent to 52 percent for economically disadvantaged students, and 59 percent to 36 percent for English learners.

The percentage drop for reading was less significant, as the Virginia Board of Education had introduced less rigorous proficiency standards starting with the 2021 test. For all students, the reading pass rate fell from 78 percent in 2019 to 73 percent in 2022.

"Had the board retained the pre-pandemic level of rigor on the reading SOLs, we would be looking at less recovery in reading," said Balow.

The Virginia Department of Education plans to launch individualized progress reports this fall for students in grades 1 to 8. According to the department, the reports will show parents or guardians where their students are succeeding and falling behind. The reports will be piloted in selected school divisions before becoming available statewide.

SOL results are available on the School Quality Profile for Loudoun County Public Schools. Full results for Virginia are on the Virginia Department of Education website