SOL Standardized Tests 2023: Falls Church Public Schools Above State

FALLS CHURCH, VA — Falls Church City Public Schools' performances on the Standards of Learning standardized tests held steady, remaining above state averages.

The Virginia Department of Education released Standards of Learning standardized test results for 2023 Thursday. Statewide results show overall rates remaining the same for reading and writing, increases for math and science and one percentage point decrease for history.

However, the Virginia Department of Education raised concerns about significant numbers of students in the "low proficient" level that may have failed before passing cut scores were lowered between 2018-2019 and 2020-2021. Achievement gaps also remain among certain student groups.

Falls Church City Public Schools had an 92 percent pass rate for English reading, the same as last year and higher than the 73 percent state average. The math pass rate was 89 percent, up from 87 percent last year and above the 69 percent state average.

In writing, the 89 percent pass rate for FCCPS was the same as last year and above the 65 percent state average. The 85 percent pass rate for science was down from 88 percent last year but above the 67 percent state average. In history, the 88 percent pass rate was 1 point lower than last year but above the 65 percent state average.

There are some gaps among student groups in the core math and reading subjects, although those student groups are all above the state averages. In English reading, Hispanic students have a 77 percent pass rate, compared to 79 percent of Black students, 95 percent of white students and 96 percent of Asian students. English learners have a 65 percent pass rate, while economically disadvantaged students and students with disabilities have a 69 percent pass rate.

The SOL results are part of the Virginia Department of Education's School Quality profile, which includes accreditation, graduation rates and school-level data.

"Upon our initial review of the School Quality Profile (SQP), we were proud to share with our staff and community that all FCCPS schools are fully accredited," said FCCPS Chief Academic Officer William Bates, Jr. in a statement to Patch.

Schools are accredited when all school quality indicators on academic achievement, achievement gaps and student engagement and outcomes are at a level one or two. For example, Meridian High School has all level one indicators, including graduation and completion with a 98.9 percent graduation rate.

Bates said school and division-level data scores ranged between 88 percent and 97 percent.

"We look forward to digging deeper into the data to understand better our strengths, challenges, and opportunities to support students better academically, emotionally, and socially," said Bates.

Another concern noted by the Virginia Department of Education was chronic absenteeism. The state noted math and reading SOL pass rates were lower for students with less attendance. For example, the pass rate for reading was 73 percent for students missing less than 18 days of school, 47 percent for students who missed up to 27 days and 37 percent for students who missed up to 54 days.

Chronic absenteeism was ranked level one at most FCCPS schools in the accreditation report, except Mount Daniel Elementary with a level two indicator. A statewide attendance campaign is being conducted to raise awareness about attendance and reducing barriers to attendance.