Standards of learning tests (SOL) for the 2021-2022 school year show improvement across most subjects from the previous academic year, but the administration is warning that there’s still an achievement gap compared to pre-COVID-19 levels. In a virtual press conference Thursday, Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) officials said that gap shows the impact of virtual learning.
“The research is becoming clearer and clearer: students whose schools were closed for in-person instruction suffered the most. Being in person for school matters,” Superintendent of Public Education Jillian Balow said.
66 percent of students overall passed in mathematics, and 73 percent of students overall passed in reading, up from 54 percent for mathematics and 69 percent for reading in 2020-2021. In science, 65 percent passed, up from 59 percent in 2020-2021, and in history/social science 66 percent passed, up from 54 percent the previous year.
Assessment tests weren’t performed in 2019-2020 due to COVID-19.
In 2018-2019, 82 percent of students passed mathematics, 78 percent passed reading, 81 percent passed science, and 80 percent passed history/social science.
In reading, Balow said that the five percentage point difference between 2021-2022 results and 2018-2019 results doesn’t capture how big the gap actually is.
“In 2020, the state Board of Education lowered expectations in reading, and this year’s scores reflect that,” Balow said.
She said analysis suggests that the 2021-2022 results may be eight-to-twelve percentage points higher than they would be under the old standards.
Secretary of Education Aimee Guidera said that the VDOE would focus on using data to identify schools and places that are underperforming.
“This data reinforces in a very stark way the danger that comes from relying on averages, and why it’s so important to focus on student-level data, which tells us a much richer story about what’s happening in our communities,” Guidera said.
She highlighted some of the disadvantaged subgroups of students, and promised a series of commitments from the administration about how they would address learning loss.
“We should have a hair on fire moment right now as we look at some of our subgroups that are disadvantaged. There’s language learners who are Hispanic. Our black students. The levels of proficiency are, I would say, almost immoral. And we have an imperative to make sure that we are focusing on getting those students what they need to be sure that every year those traits and proficiency are going up,” Guidera said.
Speaker of the House Todd Gilbert (R-Shenandoah) reacted to the SOL data in a press release.
“The closure of our schools and subsequent remote learning will be remembered as one of the biggest mistakes in the history of the Commonwealth’s educational system. Teachers and students did their best to adapt to the challenges of the pandemic, but without full-time, in-person learning, most of the students never had a chance. Now they;re behind, and they’re not catching up fast enough. Republicans are committed to fixing this unacceptable situation by ensuring our schools have the highest standards,” Gilbert said.
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Eric Burk is a reporter at The Virginia Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Students Taking a Test” by Jessica Lewis Creative.
