APS Continues to Make Progress in Closing the Achievement Gap

On August 16, the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) released 2016 SOL results for all public school divisions and schools.  Arlington Public Schools (APS) students continue to pass the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) tests at higher rates than their peers across Virginia. In 2016, the APS met or exceeded the state passing rates on 28 of 29 assessments, across all grade levels and subjects. APS exceeded the state passing rates by 5 to 13 percentage points on 16 of the assessments.   Some key highlights include:

• For the second year, the passing rate for Grade 5 Science rose by 5 percentage points for from 76% (2014) to 81% (2015) to 86% (2016).
• The overall reading scores continue to rise, reflecting gains made by Hispanic students, students identified with a disability (SWD), students identified as limited English proficient (LEP) and economically-disadvantaged students.
• Scores remained constant across the majority of tests (21), with scores remaining in a range of +/- 2 percentage points over 2015.
• 2016 was inaugural year for the Civics & Economics SOL tests, and the passing rate for APS middle school students was 87%.

Superintendent Dr. Pat Murphy said, “These results reflect the quality of our teachers and staff who work closely with our students and families to support our total instructional program. I recognize the continued progress we are making as we move toward eliminating the achievement gap, and want to congratulate all of our instructional team and students on these accomplishments.”

State SOL assessments are given to all students in Grades 3 through 8 in English Language Arts (Reading/Writing), Math, Science and Social Studies, and in high school core subjects assessed by end-of-course exams.

A few years ago, the Virginia Board of Education adopted more rigorous standards to meet national and international benchmarks for college-and-career readiness and better prepare Virginia students to compete in a global economy. Assessments of the new standards were used in mathematics for the 2011-12 school year and in English and science for the 2012-13 school year.

State accreditation reports, including student group and annual measurable objective (AMO) data, will be issued by VDOE on September 14, along with the redesigned online School Performance Report Cards.