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David
Blount, Editor
The initial prong of the state’s education reform
efforts that took hold in the mid-1990s is standards.
Following a yearlong review process involving local school
divisions, the Board of Education approved revised Standards
of Learning (SOL) in the four core content areas of English,
math, science and history in June of 1995. The revised SOL
established minimum learning standards for K–12 students and
also incorporated educational technology learning standards
to ensure computer literary for all students prior to entering
high school.
While proposed legislation dealing with testing and accountability
has steadily increased the past several years, legislative
activity concerning the Standards of Learning has been relatively
light and geared toward assisting school divisions with SOL
implementation. There was an unsuccessful attempt in 1995
through HB
2030 and SB
1057 to require that the Standards of Learning objectives,
or guidelines, become Board of Education regulations, or requirements.
Another unsuccessful measure that year sought to delay Virginia’s
application for federal Goals 2000 funding until passage of
revised SOL.
The 1996 resolution establishing the Commission on the Future
of Public Education, HJR 168 noted that “the revised
Standards of Learning will significantly strengthen academic
standards.” With this acknowledgement, the two-year study
was charged with examining, among other things, innovative
ways to implement the revised SOL and to correlate the SOL
with competencies needed for employment and further education.
HB
710, approved in 1997, laid the groundwork for the Department
of Education’s Best Practices Center, which were funded
in the budget and designed to assist local school divisions
in implementing the SOL. In 1998, HB
431 resulting from the 1996 Commission, required a regular
review of both the SOL and of the competencies for vocational
education, to ensure integration of the SOL into those programs.
Budget provisions approved in 1998 directed various funding
streams to assist local school divisions with implementing
the SOL, including state funding for new instructional materials,
teacher training and remediation. State education organizations
had been pleading for state funding of these items prior to
testing students on the revised standards. In 1999, SJ
498, which continues its work this year, established the
Commission on Educational Accountability, with one of its
main charges to monitor the implementation of the SOL. The
most significant legislation approved by the 2000 General
Assembly directed the Board of Education to establish a regular
review and revision schedule for the SOL, starting with the
History SOL, with review of each subject area to occur at
least every seven years. This was accomplished through HB
633 and SB
606 .
Although bills in 2001 to establish an SOL Algebra Readiness
Program were unsuccessful, funding of $8.7 million is included
in FY02 for this initiative, which hopes to target students
in grades 6 through 9 at risk of failing the Algebra I SOL
test, with an extra 2 hours of instruction/week. Also in 2001,
the legislature approved HB
2777, which directs the Board of Education to solicit
public comment prior to revising or adopting SOL resource
guides and lists of recommended textbooks in any SOL subject.
Revisions to the SOL are forthcoming as the Board of Education,
responding to the General Assembly’s directive, has adopted
a SOL revision schedule. The SOL are being revised in the
following order: history and social science standards, followed
by the math, science, English and technology standards, in
that order, over the next five years.
While the Commission on Educational Accountability has been
charged with monitoring the implementation of SOL, no specific
legislation is envisioned at this time that would recommend
specific changes to the SOL.
1995 – HB 2030, HJ 653 (Goals 2000 delay), HJ
654 (local role in education)
1996 – HJ 168 (Accountability Commission), HJ
196
1998 – HB 258 (cultural diversity instruction),
HB 431, HB 710, SB 527 (instruction in personal finances)
1999 – HB 2476 and SB 1284 (SOL and vocational
education), HB 2480 (SOL materials and software), SB 1252
(SOL history portrayal), SJ 498
2000 – HB 633 and SB 606, SB 114 (History SOL),
SB 487 (diverse people in History SOL)
2001 – HB 1841 (SOL instruction on the Internet),
HB 2396 and SB 981 (Algebra Readiness Program), HB 2777
As noted in The Virginia Standards of Learning issue briefing,
Virginia gained national recognition for its revised SOL.
Most states now have drafted or implemented academic standards
in the core subjects of English, math, science and history.
A detailed description of state academic standards across
the country can be found at (http://www.edexcellence.net/standards/best.html
).
The 106th Congress considered reauthorization of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) but failed to reach a new
agreement. ESEA comprises the major component of the federal
government’s commitment to public education and part
of its emphasis has been on raising the bar for educational
programs through a focus on high standards provided by states
and localities. ESEA last was reauthorized in 1994.
The
Center for Education Reform
National School Boards
Association
THOMAS
Click here for a policy issue briefing on “The
Virginia Standards of Learning.”
Click cepi@vcu.edu to provide
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