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Growth Assessments
Legislation passed in the 2021 Virginia General Assembly (HB2027 and SB1357) required the implementation of “through-year” or “growth” assessments.The growth assessments are administered to students in grades 3-8 in reading and math in the fall and winter. Middle school students who are enrolled in a high school math course will only participate in reading. Students will continue to take the Standards of Learning (SOL) tests each spring.
The online, computer adaptive tests have been configured so that the student might be administered some items from below or above the current grade level depending on the student’s responses to the on-grade-level content items. For example, students taking the grade 5 mathematics growth assessment will primarily be administered grade 5 test items; however, depending on the student’s responses to the on-grade-level test items, the student may also be administered some grade 4 test items or some grade 6 test items.
The online assessments are relatively short; with 17-25 test items and look very much like the online SOL tests. Paper assessments are available for students requiring that accommodation.
Score reports are available for parents/guardians in ParentVUE under the Documents tab, soon after the test window has closed. The reports will show the academic standards on which the student was assessed and whether the item was answered correctly, without assigning a passing or failing score. Parents and teachers will be able to identify which standards students have mastered and which standards may require review.
Watch VDOE's video on growth assessments
Visit the VDOE growth assessment webpage
Why is VDOE using vertical scaled scores?
The growth assessments were designed to measure content acquisition, rather than proficiency, thus they will not provide a "pass" or "fail" score like the standard SOL tests. Vertical scaled scores provide a snapshot of a student's performance on a content assessment continuum that allows for comparison across time and different tests as the curriculum advances in difficulty.
VDOE Slides:
What data should teachers and parents/guardians review?
Each Student Detail by Question Report, which can be viewed in the ParentVUE portal's Documents tab, shows the SOL strands that your student was tested on and whether they answered the test item correctly, as well as the level of difficulty (H=high difficulty, M=medium difficulty, L= low difficulty). This information shows what academic content/skills your child knows well and which SOL strands may require review during the school year. Teachers can view this information for their class so they can pace instruction and build in supports where needed. VDOE emphasizes that standard level information should be the primary focus for parents, guardians, students, and teachers over the vertical scaled score.
VDOE's Parent Video On Interpreting Winter Growth Assessment Vertical Scaled Scores
VDOE - Parent & Caregiver Resources for Virginia Assessments
VDOE - Guiding Questions for Caregivers
Your student may have two reports- one for Reading and one for Math
Use the specific links below to review your student's performance relative to other students taking the same test across the state:
Please reach out to your student's teacher or their School Testing Coordinator with questions.