Richmond Public Schools announced Wednesday that students’ SOL test scores showed improvements from the 2023-2024 school year.

Overall, SOL reading test scores for RPS showed students were 50% proficient in reading, 47% proficient in math, 43% proficient in social studies, 45% proficient in science and 45% proficient in writing. These statistics have increased by three points in reading and math, four points in history/social studies, and 10 points in science and writing SOL assessments.

RPS elementary schools specifically, increased their SOL proficiency in comparison to the 2022-2023 school year. Bellevue Elementary increased their science proficiency by 17 points to 48%, Overby-Sheppard Elementary increased their science proficiency by 43 points to 71% and G.H. Reid Elementary improved in every SOL subject.

In a press conference Wednesday morning at Thomas Jefferson High School, Superintendent Jason Kamras said that RPS had implemented strategies such as strong school leadership, evidence-based instructional materials and invested in tutors from Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s “All In” COVID learning loss program.

“Kids have a lot of pride in their schools,” said the superintendent on the students’ well-being after accreditation. “To be able to have the accreditation banner … hanging over the school helps everybody stand a little taller and shows the public what we already know, that there’s incredible learning happening here.”

In addition to the increased SOL scores, five more RPS schools received full accreditation. Those schools include Bellevue Elementary, Overby-Sheppard Elementary, G.H. Reid Elementary, Dogwood Middle School, and Thomas Jefferson High School — the second comprehensive high school to receive accreditation — after John Marshall High School.

Thomas Jefferson High School Principal Crystal Potee shared at the press conference about the story of how Kramas notified her during this past summer school graduation of the school’s accreditation status.

“It just became very emotional. I burst into tears and I couldn’t stop crying,” Potee said. “I just couldn’t stop being so overwhelmed and in the moment, but it just felt so good.”

On the state level, Gov. Youngkin announced the recently released Virginia public schools’ SOL test scores from the 2023-2024 on Tuesday morning at the Patrick Henry Building.

The administration revealed statewide statistics of slight improvements from the 2022-2023 school year for grades three to eight, as well as a decrease in chronic absenteeism. The data from the 2023-2024 school year showed a slight increase of reading SOL scores by 2.6%, as well as math scores by 4.8%. Overall, 70% of school divisions representing those third- to eighth-graders have improved in reading and 75% in math.

The data show from the 2022-2023 school year that over 60% of students from grades three to eight were at risk of failing or have failed the reading SOLs. In addition, the data between the 2018-2019 and 2022-2023 school years showed that Black and Latino students in grades three to eight experienced a significant decline in passing math SOLs by 20%. According to the Virginia Department of Education, the significant decline of proficiency on these SOLs were due to COVID learning loss, in which schools had more lenient expectations of students and extended school closures. Another factor reported by VDOE that contributed to decline was chronic absenteeism, which affected student performance statewide.

 Youngkin
 

As a result of these learning losses, Gov. Youngkin’s administration launched a $418 million initiative, “All In,” last year in September. This initiative offered intensive tutoring for at-risk students or students who have failed their SOLs to accelerate their learning.

“‘All In’ is working,” Youngkin said at the press conference Tuesday. “We’re going to get a lot more out of it as we press into this next year and that is a good thing, but I am very pleased with the effort and consistent recognition that we are going to get this ship now streaming in the right direction.”

While Youngkin’s administration has seen some progression within students’ performance and SOL scores, the governor said there are some who still remain at-risk at failing the assessment.

“That just reinforces our need to continue intervention and to continue with intensive tutoring for those students,” he said. “Some of the challenges is that some of the school divisions didn’t fully embrace all the work early enough and … we need to make sure that we get students to participate who need to participate.”

Looking forward, Kamras said his administration will continue to push the General Assembly for more funding to provide quality and accessible education for RPS.

“At the end of the day, providing a great education in a high poverty environment is expensive, period, full stop,” he said. “So, my challenge to the General Assembly and to everybody listening is keep investing in us and we’ll produce the results.”