A recent release of Standards of Learning (SOL) results for the 2017-2018 school year by the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) showed gains in English and mathematics scores at Prince Edward County Elementary School (PECES); however, they do not reflect the new growth model that is part of the revised Standards of Accreditation adopted by the Virginia Board of Education. According to a release from Prince Edward County Schools, “School accreditation for the 2018-2019 school year will be based on this new model and will be released in September. When the growth calculations are applied for accreditation purposes, the combined pass rate scores will reflect significant increases of 17 percentage points in both English and mathematics at the Elementary School over last year.” “These scores are a reflection of the hard work and dedication of the teachers and administrators at PECES,” commented division superintendent, Dr. Barbara Johnson. “Countless hours were devoted to ensuring the alignment of instruction to the standards and our teachers and administrators are to be commended.” Dr. Johnson added, “We are excited that the new accreditation standards adopted by the VDOE recognizes those students who did not meet the state benchmark but demonstrated significant growth toward grade-level proficiency.”

The release further cited SOL pass rates for Prince Edward County Middle School, once adjusted to reflect student growth, showed an increase of nearly 8 percentage points in English while mathematics scores fell approximately 6 percentage points and science scores fell 8 percentage points from the previous year. Despite the decline in math and science scores, the middle school will meet the state benchmark based on their three-year average in both areas. Social studies met the state benchmark with a pass rate of 75 percent. English will meet the state benchmark based on a 10 percent reduction in the failure rate from the previous year.

While initial SOL pass rates for Prince Edward County High School show declines across all areas, once adjusted, results will show an increase of 4 percentage points in English and a 2 point gain in science and the school will meet the state benchmark in both areas. SOL scores in mathematics declined nearly 7 percentage points and social studies scores fell nearly 12 percentage points. Despite the decline in social studies scores, the school will meet the state benchmark based on their three-year average; however, the school will not meet the state benchmark in math for the second consecutive year.

“While we are excited about the gains made in some areas, especially at the elementary school, the overall scores for the division reflect that there is still work to be done,” added Dr. Johnson. “I am convinced that we have the processes and personnel in place to ensure that our students will continue to demonstrate growth and that our overall pass rates, especially at the high school, will show growth in the future.”