PWCS students exceed state averages on SOL exams

Prince William County Public School students beat the pass rates of counterparts statewide on the latest Standards of Learning assessments in almost all subject areas, and across most demographic groups, according to initial results released Aug. 11 by the Virginia Department of Education.

Divisionwide pass rates for PWCS students generally remained high or increased over the previous year. Pass rates also improved at many individual schools, though some fell short of their goals.

SOL tests and alternate assessments measure student proficiency against increasingly rigorous Virginia standards in English (reading and writing), mathematics, science, and history and social science.

“The results confirm Prince William County students are benefitting from our commitment to continuous improvement,” said Associate Superintendent for Student Learning and Accountability, Rita Goss. “It is especially gratifying that we are seeing some big improvements among schools and subgroups that needed extra assistance to close performance gaps.”

Divisionwide:
English reading: PWCS pass rates rose 4 points between 2014 and 2015 to 81%, compared with 79% statewide. PWCS students beat state average pass rates on all 7 reading exams.
English writing: Pass rates up 2 points to 80%, compared with 77% statewide. PWCS bettered state pass rates on both writing exams.
History and social science: Up 8% to 89% versus 86% statewide. PWCS students eclipsed the pass rates of VA counterparts on all 6 history and social science tests.
Mathematics: Up 3 points to 80%; Virginia rate is 79%. PWCS students equaled or surpassed state pass rates on 6 of 9 math exams.
Science: Pass rates increased 2 points to 83%, surpassing Virginia’s 82% rate. PWCS students equaled or exceeded statewide average results on 3 of 5 tests.

Outcomes varied across specific tests, and among differing schools and subgroups, but often reflected improvement where improvement is needed most.

Efforts to narrow long-standing performance gaps of certain student subgroups paid off, with PWCS black student pass rates surpassing statewide performance by 10, 9, 8, 6 and 7 percentage points respectively in English reading, writing, history, mathematics, and social science. Economically disadvantaged students also posted several across-the-board gains, with PWCS students surpassing pass rates statewide by 3-5 percentage points.

Among the 86 individual schools in the report, 75 saw improved pass rates in reading, 63 in math, 56 in history and social science, and 49 in science. Numerous schools had pass rate increases of 10 percentage points or more, highlighting their focus on improving student performance. Fred Lynn Middle school led the pack for improvement, with a math pass rate 16 points higher than last year.

The assessments also identified a few schools with known performance challenges that have not improved as rapidly as hoped. Their improvement plans will now be reevaluated to make certain schools have the support they need.

The school improvement process is “ongoing,” according to Goss. “School leaders have a clear understanding of where they are headed. This new data sheds light on the grade levels and subject areas where there is work to do to ensure students are successful. Specific results that did not meet our targets represent opportunities to reflect on what we are accomplishing, and refine and refocus our efforts to better meet student needs.”

Parents will receive updates when the Virginia Department of Education releases accreditation results in September.

“Standardized tests results are only part of the picture of how our students are performing, but principals and teachers at every school will look closely at what these results show us about where we are doing well and where we have the opportunity for improvement,” added Goss. “We have some challenges, but most of all we have many areas of student success to celebrate.”

VDOE will post complete details of 2014-15 assessment results by Division and school.