Reports released by the Virginia Department of Education show higher than expected achievement by Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) students in the 2021 Standards of Learning (SOL) tests. Despite the challenge of remote instructional delivery during the pandemic, pass rates for LCPS students met or exceeded the state pass rate for 21 of the 23 SOL tests administered. 

 

Participation and pass rates for students from Loudoun County Public Schools in 2020-21 were as follows: 

 

• Reading: 67% of students participated in a test in the subject of English: Reading and 79% of students who participated earned a passing score
• Math: 72% of students participated in a Mathematics test and 64% of students who participated earned a passing score
• Science: 73% of students participated in a Science test and 72% of students who participated earned a passing score

 

Federal legislation does not require that students be assessed in Writing and History and Social Science, so no pass rates were reported for these subjects. 

 

SOL test data from 2021 reflects the impact of the pandemic on student attendance and performance, thus the data cannot be compared to previous SOL test administrations. During previous school years, approximately 99% of LCPS students completed SOL assessments in each subject area.  

 

Instructional support for English Learners and students with disabilities throughout the 2020-21 school year helped students keep pace with similar students across the state as measured by the SOL results. Fifty-one percent of students with disabilities in LCPS passed an English: Reading SOL test, compared to 40% of students with disabilities statewide. Twenty-seven percent of LCPS English Learners passed a Reading test, three points higher than the statewide pass rate of 24%.

 

“The pandemic posed significant challenges to teaching, learning and testing this past year, which resulted in the lower scores you see, but I am heartened to see that pass rates for LCPS students are higher than the overall statewide pass rates,” stated Scott A. Ziegler, Superintendent of Loudoun County Public Schools. “It took students, families and schools working together for students to be able to demonstrate their skill acquisition through SOL test participation. Our teachers worked especially hard to modify learning strategies to help students get to success under incredibly unusual circumstances.” 

 

To learn more about the LCPS SOL scores visit  VDOE School Quality Profiles. 

 

Published 8/27/2021