Raising Expectations in Virginia K-12 Education
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a cut score?
Cut scores define the minimum score a student must achieve to reach each performance level on an assessment. The Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) assessments are scored on a 0–600-point scale. Cut scores define the ranges of SOL scores, between 0 and 600, that place students into performance levels, such as fail/below basic, fail/basic, pass/proficient, and pass/advanced. Earning a score within the proficient or advanced levels means that the student has demonstrated a strong understanding of core subject matter content and skills.
Why are cut scores changing?
SOL tests are aligned to Virginia’s state standards, which define what students are expected to learn in key subject areas. Assessment cut scores help us know how well students are meeting those learning expectations. The cut scores in effect through the 2025-2026 school year, including that a score of 400 would be considered pass/proficient on all SOL tests, were based on old standards from 2016 (mathematics) and 2017 (English). Since new, more rigorous content standards were approved in those subjects in 2023 and 2024, SOL tests in mathematics and reading have been updated to fully align to the new standards. The new assessment cut scores reflect current standards and current expectations for proficiency and beyond.
How are cut scores decided?
The updated cut scores were established through a standard-setting process with a committee of subject matter experts. The goal of the Virginia SOL Standard Setting Committee that convened in 2025 was to recommend performance level cut scores for Grades 3-8 Mathematics, Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, Grades 3-8 Reading, and End of Course (EOC) Reading to the Virginia Board of Education. The Board determined the final cut scores and policy modifications.
What are performance levels?
Performance levels help communicate how well students have achieved the knowledge and skills within Virginia’s standards by explaining what a student’s score, 0 to 600, means. For example, a performance level of pass/proficient indicates a student has met the expectations in Virginia standards and mastered grade-level knowledge and skills. A performance level of fail/below basic, however, indicates a student had significant difficulty with grade-level content.
Reading and mathematics SOLs in grades 3-8 have used four performance levels: fail/below basic, fail/basic, pass/proficient, and pass/advanced. Reading and mathematics End-of-Course (EOC) tests in high schools have used three levels: fail/does not meet, pass/proficient, and pass/advanced. Each performance level is associated with a particular range of SOL test scores, and the test scores at the end of the range are the cut scores. Students performing at the proficient and advanced performance levels are considered to have “passed” the SOL test and demonstrated mastery of Virginia’s standards.
Why are performance levels changing?
To help with the transition to higher cut scores and avoid a large, single-year increase in cut scores, the Board approved a multi-year implementation plan that adds a new, temporary performance level called pass/approaching in each of the transition years. The existing performance levels are not being eliminated. For example, reading and mathematics SOLs in grades 3-8 will temporarily have five performance levels, instead of four, during the phase-in period. Students performing at the proficient and advanced performance levels, as well as the approaching level, will be considered to have “passed” the SOL test for meeting graduation requirements and for school accountability. However, only students scoring at the proficient and advanced levels will have demonstrated grade-level mastery of Virginia’s more rigorous academic standards.
How are the cut scores and performance levels being phased in over four years?
The transition plan requires cut scores to increase in impacted grades and subject each year for the next four years (the plan does not impact the Virginia Alternate Assessment Program (VAAP) or any SOL tests in science, writing, or history and social studies). This means that a score of 400 will no longer be considered “passing” on most SOL reading and mathematics tests in the 2026-2027 school year. The updated cut scores will be fully implemented in the 2029-2030 school year, except for the EOC Reading test which is on a slower timeline.
In addition to changes in the cut scores, the Board also adopted a new performance level. In the 2026-2027, 2027-2028, and 2028-2029 school years, a new, temporary performance level will be used: pass/approaching. The cut scores associated with the temporary approaching level will be set incrementally higher in each of the three phase-in years, until the approaching level is no longer used in the fourth school year, 2029-2030. Students performing at the approaching level during the phase-in period will be considered “passing” for school accountability in the School Performance and Support Framework and for earning verified credit toward high school graduation.
Resources
- School Year 2025 – 2026 and 2026 – 2027 Proficiency Implementation
- School Year 2026 – 2027 Proficiency Implementation Plan
- Four-Year Phase-In Proficiency Implementation Plan: Reading and Math
- Explanation of Cut Scores: Overview of cut scores, how they are established and approved
- Summary of Analyses between Virginia Standards of Learning and NAEP Framework: Overview of alignment between the 2023 and 2024 Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) and the 2026 NAEP Framework for Proficient and Advanced Levels