On June 20, 2019, the Virginia Board of Education recognized five Arlington schools for high student achievement or continuous improvement under the board’s new exemplar performance school recognition program. Tuckahoe Elementary, Abingdon Elementary School, Arlington Community High School, Arlington Science Focus School and Hoffman-Boston Elementary School are among 235 schools honored across the Commonwealth.
The criteria for the new awards were approved by the Virginia Board of Education in April 2018 and are aligned with the board’s revised accreditation standards. The Exemplar Performance School Awards were established to replace the Virginia Index of Performance program and to recognize schools that are exceeding state accreditation standards and making continuous improvement in narrowing achievement gaps.
“I congratulate the students, teachers, principals and staff at each of these schools for their commitment to excellence and student achievement,” said Superintendent Dr. Patrick K. Murphy. “This is one of many ways we evaluate success, and we are encouraged to see how the program has evolved to recognize more schools for academic growth and improving outcomes for students, which are core elements of the APS 2018-24 Strategic Plan.”
2019 Board of Education Highest Achievement Award
Tuckahoe Elementary School was one of 52 schools that earned the Board of Education’s Highest Achievement Award. To earn the award, a school must earn a state accreditation rating of Accredited, and meet the following benchmarks:
- 70 percent pass rate on state assessments in science and mathematics;
- 75 percent pass rate on state assessment in English reading and writing;
- No more than a five percent gap (for schools with two student groups) or a 10 percent gap (for schools with three or more student groups) in English reading and writing between the lowest-performing group and all other students in the school; and
- No more than a five percent gap (for schools with two student groups) or a 10 percent gap (for schools with three or more student groups) in mathematics between the lowest-performing group and all other students in the school.
2019 Board of Education Continuous Improvement Award
Abingdon Elementary School, Arlington Community High School, Arlington Science Focus School and Hoffman-Boston Elementary School received the Board of Education Continuous Improvement Award. To be eligible for this recognition, a school must earn a state accreditation rating of Accredited or Accredited with Conditions and meet at least one of the following benchmarks for improved performance on accreditation-related school quality indicators INSERT LINK TO VDOE CRITERIA:
- A cumulative 10-point increase over three years in the combined rates for reading and mathematics and in the pass rate for science, with improvement each year on each indicator;
- A cumulative 10-point increase over three years in the combined rates for reading and mathematics for two or more student groups, with improvement each year for each group on both indicators;
- A cumulative 15 percent decrease in the chronic absenteeism rate over three years, with a decrease each year; or
- For schools with a graduating class, a cumulative four-point increase in the Graduation and Completion Index over three years, with an increase each year, and a cumulative 15 percent decrease in the dropout rate, with a decrease each year.
This fall, the Virginia Department of Education will solicit applications from schools and school divisions for the Board of Education Innovative Practice Award. The awards will be announced in the spring of 2020 and will recognize innovative practices implemented for at least two full academic years in the areas of instruction, administration, technology, family and student health, learning environment and teacher retention.
The Virginia Board of Education press release listing all award recipients is available here. Board of Education criteria and guidelines on Exemplar School Recognition are available on the VDOE website.
