Accreditation & Federal Reports
Virginia public schools receive annual accountability ratings based on the performance of students on Standards of Learning (SOL) tests and other statewide assessments:
- State Accreditation ratings, as outlined in the Virginia Board of Education’s Regulations Establishing Standards for Accrediting Public Schools in Virginia (SOA), are reported by school. A school’s state accreditation rating reflects overall achievement in English, history/social science, mathematics and science. Schools in which students meet or exceed achievement objectives established by the Virginia Board of Education in these four content areas are rated as “fully accredited.”
- Federal Annual Measurable Objectives (AMOs), as outlined in the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), are reported at the state level, school-division level and school level. Under the provisions of the two-year flexibility granted in June 2012 by the US Department of Education (USED), AMOs in reading and mathematics replace Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) targets that schools were previously required to meet. Beginning with results reported in the 2012-2013 school year (based on assessments given in 2011-2012), schools, school divisions and the state are rated according to the progress they are making toward meeting or exceeding English and mathematics AMOs.