RICHMOND – Today, Secretary of Education Anne Holton announced that the Standards of Learning (SOL) Innovation Committee has completed their first round of interim recommendations.

The Committee, composed of educators, advocates, legislators of both parties and business leaders from across the Commonwealth, has been working since July to craft a series of recommendations aimed at reforming the current assessment system.

The resulting twelve recommendations will now be sent to the Board of Education and the General Assembly, detailing ways to reform the SOL assessments, recognize and promote student growth, and encourage creativity in the classroom.

“Innovation is essential in building the kind of education system we need to meet the demands of the New Virginia Economy,” Governor McAuliffe said. “I am proud of the work these dedicated Virginians have done in just a few short months, and their twelve recommendations are an inspiring start to a years-long process. I look forward to working with them during the legislative session and beyond to make sure our accountability system is fair, effective, and beneficial to the students of the Commonwealth.”

“The SOL Innovation Committee represents the best and brightest of what Virginia has to offer,” said Secretary of Education Anne Holton. “These first twelve interim recommendations are proof that we assembled the right team to tackle a very complicated and contentious subject. With these proposals, we are one step closer to making our state-wide accountability system even better.”

Bipartisan legislation passed by the 2013 General Assembly and signed into law in April by Governor McAuliffe directs the SOL Innovation Committee to take a comprehensive look at the SOL assessments and accountability and instructional issues in order to make recommendations to the Board of Education and General Assembly.

The Committee’s work is ongoing, with further recommendation expected next year.

Read the Executive Summary: https://education.virginia.gov/media/3474/final-executive-summarymrk.pdf

Read the full report: https://education.virginia.gov/media/3475/final-full-reportmrk.pdf

source: VDOE