Virginia announces accreditation results for 2017-2018

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RICHMOND – The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) released accreditation results for state schools on Wednesday, and as expected, Warren County’s Ressie Jeffries Elementary School had its accreditation denied for the 2017-2018 school year.

While about 70 percent of schools in the Northern Shenandoah Valley (Warren, Shenandoah and Frederick counties) will receive full accreditation for the next school year, it is lower than the 86 percent of schools across the commonwealth that are set to be fully accredited next year.

Across Virginia, English had the lowest pass-rate of any subject, and that was reflected in Warren County schools as well.

The official accreditation ratings the state released Wednesday point to the difficulty Warren County Schools have had in meeting benchmark standards in English.

Moreover, according to official accreditation results released Wednesday by the VDOE, three of the seven schools in Warren County for which the state provided official results failed to meet the English standard.

Warren County’s English scores were in areas in which improvement is desperately needed, as Ressie Jeffries Elementary School, Skyline High School and E. Wilson Morrison Elementary School all failed to meet English standards. Moreover, Ressie Jefferies also failed to meet the state standards in a subject other than English; the school received a 61 in science.

E. Wilson Morrison will maintain its full accreditation status because of scores from previous years.

In 27 divisions statewide, 88 schools were denied state accreditation for 2017-2018 because of low student achievement.

In Richmond, meanwhile, Governor Terry McAuliffe responded to the announcement that 1,573 of Virginia’s 1,823 schools are fully accredited – a record high for his administration. “This is a significant accomplishment for Virginia’s public schools, and one that is the result of tremendous diligence and hard work of our students, teachers, principals and division leaders over many years,” said Governor Terry McAuliffe. “These schools are proving the strong leadership at the state and local level, combined with smart policy and adequate resources can make a real difference how our Commonwealth prepares the next generation to succeed in a new Virginia economy. I am proud of the success we are seeing in schools across the Commonwealth and look forward to building on these results in the months to come.”

For more information on the VDOE’s announcement, click on this link: http://www.doe.virginia.gov/news/news_releases/2017/09_sep13.shtml.