INFORMATIONAL

Due to the varying calendars of school divisions within 
Virginia, SOL testing will begin shortly in various parts 
of the state and continue for some weeks.  Effective with 
the spring 1999 administration, new procedures for scoring 
are being implemented.  These procedures are designed to 
return the Student Performance Reports for non-writing 
tests to school divisions within 14-calendar days of 
receipt for answer documents that contain no problems that 
would preclude processing.  These new procedures allow for 
more expeditious processing and have already made it 
possible to schedule testing later in the school year.  We 
will continue to review the SOL testing program and make 
further improvements as the program matures. 

The purpose of this memo is to review the manner in which 
results will be received within each school division.  Each 
school division has a unique testing window based on its 
school calendar.  Division staff members should review 
their calendar to become familiar with the times materials 
will arrive in their division.

There is no new information in this memo.  It is a review 
of information disseminated in the regional workshops for 
Division Directors of Testing and information contained in 
Supts. Memo. #68, dated April 2, 1999.

How SOL (Non-Writing) Answer Documents Will Be Processed

A. Upon receipt of a school division's answer documents, 
processing will begin.  Answer documents will be logged 
in and checked for completeness.  This includes checking 
that all boxes have been received, that answer documents 
have been assembled correctly, and that all required 
documentation has been included.  

B. The scoring turnaround begins the first full calendar day 
after the Scoring Center receives answer documents in 
processable condition.  

C. Federal holidays are excluded from the turnaround time.  
If the return date falls on a Saturday or Sunday, reports 
will be returned the following Monday.

D. If a student answer document contains no "alerts" (answer 
document errors), the document will be processed in the 
14-calendar day turnaround.  

E. If a student answer document does contain an error, the 
student's record will be alerted, the school division 
will be notified, and resolution requested.  

F. A flowchart of the overall process is shown in 
Attachment 1.


SOL Results for Students Whose Answer Documents Contained 
No Errors

A. The Student Performance Reports (2 copies) and 
Preliminary School List Reports (2 copies) will be sent 
to each school division within 14-calendar days for all 
non-alerted student documents.

B. The Preliminary School List Reports will be in the same 
format as the School List Reports used in the spring 1998 
administration.  The reports will provide local staff 
with a quick way to see which students passed and failed 
the SOL tests.  

SOL Results for Students Whose Answer Documents Contained 
Errors

A. Once the scoring center alerts a student's record, the 
school division will be faxed the pertinent information 
for resolution.

B. Five business days after the final alert for a school 
division has been resolved, the school division will 
receive Student Performance Reports for the students who 
were on alert.  At this point, a school division will 
have Student Performance Reports for all students tested.  
The final School List Reports (listing all students) will 
also be in this shipment.

SOL Summary Reports Received by Schools and School 
Divisions

A. Each school division should review the Student 
Performance Reports that have been received for any 
needed records changes.  Records changes involve 
instances where the division can substantiate a need to 
correct an error in the student's disability, 
accommodation, or other field that would directly impact 
a student's, school's, or division's score. The Division 
Director of Testing in each school division will be sent, 
under separate cover, a Spring 1999 SOL Records Change 
Request Form to be used for this purpose as well as an 
Authorization to Proceed Form.  Division Directors of 
Testing are asked to submit any requested records changes 
and the Authorization to Proceed Form as quickly as 
possible so summary reports may be produced.  Upon 
receipt, the requested records changes will be made and 
the Authorization to Proceed Form used to signal approval 
to the Scoring Center to produce summary information.

B. Summary information will be shipped five business days 
after the completion of the requested records changes.

C. At this time the school division will receive the full 
complement of summary reports to include the following:
                         No. School      No. Div.
                            Copies        Copies
 School Summary Reports         2            2
 School Analysis of Subgroups   2            1
 Division Summary Report        0            2
 Division Analysis of Subgroups 0            2


                          No. School     No. Div.
                             Copies       Copies
 Division Report by School      0            0
 Exception Report (by school    0            1
    and division)
 Student Record Labels          1            0                   

Packaging and Shipment of Reports

A. All shipments will be sent via UPS or Airborne Express.

B. Score reports will be returned packaged in separate boxes 
for each school.  A sample of the label to be used on 
these boxes is shown in Attachment 2.

C. In each shipment, school boxes will be returned in 
alphabetical order according to the first letter of the 
first word of the school name.  For example, "Albert 
White Elementary" will come before "Walter Adams 
Elementary."    Diagrams of the packing sequences for all 
shipments are included in Attachments 3-5.

D. Information for the DDOT is contained in Box 1 of each 
shipment. 

Please note that reports for the writing tests are not 
subject to the 14-day turnaround process described above, 
but will be delivered to all divisions as far in advance of 
the end of the school year as possible.  Packing diagrams 
for the shipments of writing reports are provided in 
Attachments 6 and 7.

As we move into the spring phase of the SOL testing, we 
would like to thank each of you who helped to make the SOL 
testing a reality.  It is a very important part of our 
reform initiatives that provides us with information on how 
well students are acquiring the skills and knowledge 
contained in the SOL.  If you have any questions regarding 
these procedures, please contact a member of the Division 
of Assessment and Reporting at (804) 225-2102.



PDS/CMH/atb

Attachment:     A hard copy of this memo and its attachment
                will be sent to the superintendent's office.