Ressie Jeffries sees strong gains as Virginia releases SOL scores

The Standards of Learning (SOL) assessment scores were released Wednesday for schools across Virginia.

The Virginia Department of Education reported that the pass rates for the 2017-2018 school year were a little changed compared to the previous academic year, with a slight drop in most assessment sections compared to the year prior.

In Warren County, over 75 percent of Ressie Jeffries Elementary School RJES) students passed the English SOL test for the first time in over four years, according to state figures.

Warren County Public Schools superintendent Greg Drescher has previously stated his belief that the latest set of the school’s test results would likely allow the elementary school it to reach full accreditation, after having its accreditation denied last year. He was not available for comment Wednesday evening.

Though RJES achieved a 75 percent pass rate for the English SOL, several other schools saw test results decline. With the exception of Ressie Jeffries, all of the elementary schools saw test results drop from last year’s levels in math and English.

E. Wilson Morrison Elementary School’s English scores dropped six points, to a 57 percent pass rate, from a 63-percent pass rate the previous academic year.

Leslie Fox Keyser Elementary School’s English scores, meanwhile, declined seven points, to a 67 percent pass rate. Its math scores fell to a 64 percent pass rate, down from the previous year’s 79 percent; its science scores fell to a 55 percent pass rate, down from a previous score of 74 percent.
Both county middle schools were as new schools; no previous results were available.

Both Warren County High School and Skyline High School improved English scores, though other test subjects were more problematic. Warren County High achieved lower history scores, while Skyline High had lower scores in both history and math.

Accreditation standards were overhauled last year, so it is unclear just how heavily the new scores will factor into the overall process for achieving a satisfactory rating. Besides test scores, the new standards rate schools based upon absenteeism rates, dropout rates and the career and college readiness of students, among other factors.

Statewide:
• 79 percent of the students who took reading tests passed, compared with 80 percent during 2016-2017
• 78 percent passed in writing, compared with 79 percent previously
• 77 percent passed in mathematics, compared with 79 percent in 2016-2017
• 81 percent passed SOL tests in science, compared with 82 percent previously
• 84 percent of students tested in history and social studies passed, compared with 86 percent in 2016-2017

Superintendent of Public Instruction James Lane released the following statement with the report:

“Virginia has challenging standards and assessments, and students are performing at a much higher level today than when the state raised expectations six years ago. Pass rates are not the only measure of school quality. If we focus solely on annual pass rates, we miss the achievement of students who are making steady progress toward the benchmarks and the efforts of schools to address issues that directly affect learning and achievement. These factors are captured in the new accreditation system, and the ratings we will report next month will provide a more complete picture of where schools are today and where they can be enhanced in the future.”

Read the report here.