SOL Testing Spring 2021
NOTIFICATION OF TESTING
SOL Assessments, Grades 3-8
Dear Parents and Guardians:
Across Virginia, students will be taking Standards of Learning (SOL) tests this spring. Federal and state education departments have decided not to cancel this year’s assessments. In Fairfax County Public Schools, testing for grades 3-8 will be scheduled between April 26, 2021 and June 4, 2021.
- All SOL tests must be taken in-person at school. SOL tests are not available for remote delivery from home.
- Students attending school virtually will be scheduled by testing appointment. Your student will come to school to complete their SOL assessments. Bus transportation will be provided for these appointments, as needed.
- Hybrid students will take the SOL on scheduled testing days by our staff. In some cases, it may be necessary for us to schedule an SOL testing appointment on a day when your student is not normally attending at school. If this is the case, bus transportation will be provided to school, as needed.
- If you do not wish for your student to take SOL tests at school this spring, you have the right to refuse testing. The Right to Refuse Assessments webpage(https://www.fcps.edu/node/34277) offers information and considerations as you make this decision.
- If you choose to refuse the grade 3-8 SOL reading or mathematics test for your student, you will have the opportunity for them to complete an alternative, non-SOL test at home. The Virginia Remote Student Progress Monitoring Test will provide information about strengths and areas for growth in grade level content standards.
As we prepare for spring assessments, we need to collect information about your intentions for spring SOL tests. By April 9th, please complete this online Google intent form: https://forms.gle/GXAqY5ifTyaaYnYd9. Contact Bridget Louder or Debora Nunez at 703-641-2800 if you need help accessing or completing the form.
Federal law requires schools to give SOL tests in reading, mathematics, and science. Additionally, state policy requires schools to use local alternative assessments in grade levels and content areas where SOL tests have been removed.
- SOL tests measure what students have learned of the content and skills detailed in the Virginia Standards of Learning. Tests provide information about student achievement to the parent, school, school division, and state. SOL scores are available for families by the start of the next school year.
- Local alternative assessments are the combination of formal and informal assessments delivered as part of regular classroom instruction throughout the school year. Like SOL tests, the local alternative assessments measure student learning of the content standards. Performance on local alternative assessments is incorporated into quarterly progress reports for families.
The table below shows which content areas are assessed at each grade level within elementary and middle schools. If you have questions about state assessments for your student, please contact their teacher.
* For elementary and middle school students enrolled in a high school credit-bearing mathematics course, the Algebra 1, Geometry, or Algebra 2 SOL test is used to fulfill the federal testing requirement. Note that the Virginia Remote Student Progress Monitoring Test is not available for high school credit-bearing mathematics courses.
Sincerely,
Bridget Louder
Assistant Principal
School Test Coordinator