Standards Of Learning Results 2022: How Alexandria Schools Performed

ALEXANDRIA, VA — The Virginia Department of Education released Standards of Learning standardized test results for 2022 last week, and Alexandria City Public Schools had some improvements from last year's scores but lower numbers than pre-pandemic testing. SOL results were among the topics of discussion at Thursday night's Alexandria School Board work session.

For English reading, ACPS had a pass rate of 61 percent compared to a state average of 73 percent. The school division's pass rate is up from 57 percent in 2021, which reflects reduced student participation due to COVID-19 impacts to testing. However, pass rates in the last two years are lower than the 68 percent pass rate in 2019, the last time SOLs had regular participation levels. There was no testing in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In math, ACPS had a 49 percent pass rate compared to a 66 percent state average. The pass rate in 2020 for ACPS was 40 percent, which reflects reduced student participation. The ACPS math pass rate in 2019 was 70 percent.

The science pass rate for ACPS was also 49 percent, while the state has a 65 percent average. Last year, the ACPS pass rate for science was 44 percent, while the 2019 pass rate was 67 percent.

On writing, the ACPS pass rate of 63 percent was three percentage points below the state average. The history pass average was 54 percent for ACPS, compared to a 66 percent state average. History and writing results are not available for 2021 due to widespread use of local assessments for writing and history. The 2019 pass rates were 70 percent for writing and 72 percent for history.

Similar to the state as a whole, there are some disparities in results between student groups. But those student groups did make improvements.

"When we look at those results disaggregated by student group, we do see increases in reading and mathematics and science across all student groups, excluding our students with disabilities who remained large, largely didn't see a change from [2021] to [2022]," said Clinton Page, chief accountability and research officer at ACPS, in a presentation to the School Board.

For reading, the results were:

• Asian students, 66 percent pass rate in 2022, up from 57 percent in 2021
• White students: 87 percent pass rate, up from 83 percent
• Black students: 57 percent pass rate, up from 53 percent
• Hispanic students: 44 percent pass rate, up from 38 percent
• Students with disabilities: 27 percent pass rate, down from 29 percent
• Economically disadvantaged students: 47 percent pass rate, up from 41 percent
• English learners: 27 percent pass rate, up from 16 percent

In math, results were:

• Asian students, 49 percent pass rate in 2022, up from 44 percent in 2021
• White students: 77 percent pass rate, up from 68 percent
• Black students: 40 percent pass rate, up from 32 percent
• Hispanic students: 34 percent pass rate, up from 20 percent
• Students with disabilities: 20 percent pass rate, no change from 20 percent
• Economically disadvantaged students: 36 percent pass rate, up from 23 percent
• English learners: 23 percent pass rate, up from 10 percent

Thursday's School Board discussion centered around the draft areas of focus for the 2022-2023 school year. Some of these — literacy in kindergarten through fourth grade and unfinished learning in math for grades K-12 — reflect core subjects that SOLs test students on.

Virginia Department of Education on the SOLs

On the state level, Gov. Glenn Youngkin's Department of Education pointed to the impact of school closures as a factor in SOL results. 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 Alexandria City Public Schools.