Locally Developed Assessments
In 2014, the General Assembly eliminated the following SOL assessments:
- Grade-3 History/Social Science
- Grade-3 Science
- Grade-5 Writing
- U.S. History I (formerly administered in grade 5 or grade 6)
- U.S. History II (formerly administered in grade 6 or grade 7)
This legislation requires school divisions to administer alternative assessments, consistent with Virginia Board of Education guidelines, to students in grades three through eight in each subject area in which SOL assessments were eliminated by the legislation.
School divisions must certify that they have provided instruction and administered an alternative assessment, consistent with Board of Education guidelines, to students in grades and subject areas that no longer have a corresponding SOL test.
Guidelines for Local Alternative Assessments 2016-2017 through 2018-2019-This is a PDF document. (PDF)
As announced in Superintendent’s Memo #284-16, the new local alternative assessment guidelines replace the Local Alternative Assessment Guidelines for 2014-2015 originally adopted by the Board in September 2014. The new guidelines clarify the expectation that school divisions are to demonstrate progress in moving toward the use of performance assessments in their schools. School divisions are expected to use the Framework for Local Alternative Assessment Implementation included in the new guidelines to assess their progress in implementing performance assessments and to report their status on the continuum to the Department of Education. A survey to collect each school division’s status on the framework continuum as well as more detailed information about the division’s plans for implementing performance assessments was sent to divisions in December. Department staff will use the results to plan professional development and support to school divisions.
Frequently Asked Questions About Local Alternative Assessments-This is a PDF document. (PDF)
The Framework for Local Alternative Assessment Implementation-This is a PDF document. (PDF) – provides common language for school divisions to use in determining their progress in implementing performance assessments and in identifying next steps.
Play the Audio Walk-Through of the Framework for Alternative Assessment Implementation
Performance Task Development Cycle (PDF) – a flow chart for the development of Performance Tasks addressing these steps:
- Content
- Context
- Process Skills
- Task Design
- Evaluation Design
- Reflection
Professional Development
- Assessing For Deeper Learning: A Transformative Pathway to Prepare Virginia Students for the Future – 2016 Conference Materials
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