INFORMATIONAL

In SUPTS. MEMO. NO. 98 (July 3, 1998), we provided you with
advance copies of the Standards of Learning (SOL) Assessments
1998 Sample Items booklets, and informed you that copies of these
booklets would be delivered by Harcourt Brace Educational
Measurement to all schools early in the 1998-99 school year for
distribution to students and parents.

As you correspond with principals, school test coordinators, and
others responsible for receiving the 1998 Sample Items booklets
and getting them in the hands of your students, please make them
aware of the following errors in the booklet prepared for the
end-of-course tests:

  Test:               Biology
  Reporting category: Life at the Systems and Organisms LevelError:
                      On page 49, the answer to the second
                      sample item ("The hoatzin is one of the
                      few birds ") is marked incorrectly. 
                      Answer "F" is not the right answer.
                      Correction: The correct answer is "H."

  Test:               Chemistry
  Reporting category: Scientific Investigation
  Error:              On page 52, the answer to the second
                      sample item ("Using the periodic table,
                      how many ") is marked incorrectly. 
                      Answer "F" is not the right answer.
                      Correction: The correct answer is "H."

We have informed your division director of testing (DDOT) of
these errors.  The DDOT has been provided errata notices and
corrected pages allowing the following options to correct the
errors prior to distribution of the end-of-course booklet to
students:

  A.  using the errata sheets, the indicated corrections can   
      be made by hand;
  B.  copies of the errata sheets can be made and inserted     
      inside the front cover of each end-of-course booklet;
      or 
  C.  copies of the corrected pages can be made and inserted   
      in each end-of-course booklet.

Copies of the errata sheet and corrected pages are also
enclosed for your review and files.  Please be sure to make
the same corrections in the advance copy that was delivered
to you with SUPTS. MEMO. NO. 98.  

We regret these errors and appreciate your cooperation in
correcting them prior to distribution of the booklets to
students.  If you have any questions about the upcoming
distribution of these booklets or about the errors in the
1998 Sample Items for End-of-Course Tests, contact the
Division of Assessment and Reporting at (804) 225-2102.


PDS/JST/jc

Enclosures