With a new year comes new changes, and the school environment is no exception. Looking ahead to next year, life for the graduating class of 2022 may be different than what everyone is used to. As of last month, educators have been campaigning for students to experience a decrease in Standards of Learning (SOL) tests required to graduate. SOL testing has been at the center of controversy when it comes to Virginia curriculum. Every year, grade levels 3-12 take tests based specifically on the material they learned in that grade and subject. The vast majority of Virginia students do not like the SOL and think their academic career could do without them. The potential new changes may grant many students’ wishes.
“The new Virginia graduation requirements include the implementation of the ‘Profile of a Virginia Graduate’ which ensures that students meet high academic standards and graduate with workplace skills, civic responsibility and a career plan; development of critical thinking, creative thinking, communication, citizenship and collaboration for all students; and a reduction in the number of required verified credits [meaning a credit that goes towards a student’s graduation] for the Standard and Advanced Study Diplomas, reducing the number to five (one each in English reading, English writing, mathematics, science and history/social science) for both diplomas,” Assistant Superintendent Tara Nattrass said.
“Basically, you would have fewer SOL tests that are required. The credits the kids take themselves wouldn’t change,” Assistant Principal Scott McKowen said.
With the replacement of select SOLs comes the addition of project-based learning.
“It’s much more authentic if you can demonstrate your learning through project-based learning as opposed to a multiple choice test, or at least that’s what they’re thinking. You’re losing a lot of your SOL assessments and replacing that with more project-based learning,” Principal Bridget Loft said
APS students agree that SOLs cause a great amount of stress. This seems to be a known fact amid Arlington County Education Officials and has been considered when proposing this change.
“I think the idea was, let’s save everybody the time and hassle and headache of going through a whole testing day and getting all worked up about it, and just eliminate the tests and boil it down to just the essentials,” McKowen said.
Whilst these possible changes are almost guaranteed to be popular with the incoming freshmen class of 2022, some current students feel jealous that they are going to miss out on these changes.
“It’s not fair that they’re gonna take [possibly] fewer SOLs than us because they’re gonna be in the same kind of I.Q. [Intelligence Quotient] category as we were when we were freshmen,” freshmen Logan Matthews said.
Regardless if Patriots feel that they are getting the short end of the stick when it comes to diploma requirements, the administration thinks the ease of earning a diploma will still be the same for all graduating classes.
“I think it’s going be about the same at this point. While the SOLs aren’t as difficult, they’re going to have some other things that are put into place… We’ll only know once it gets going. I think students in Arlington County are going see little [change] because students are so well prepared anyway… they’re gonna do fine,” Director of Counseling Mark Rooks said.
Looking ahead to next year, incoming Freshmen may find varying opinions on what their diploma regulations are.
“The regulations were approved by the Virginia Board of Education in November 2017 and become effective in the fall of 2018,” Nattrass said.
Although the Superintendent’s Office reported that these changes are all set for the class of 2022, local Yorktown administration cautioned that this was still tentative.
“The Virginia Department of Education has not fully released or approved these changes,” Loft said.
“Even though people think it’s sort of likely going happen it’s still not etched in stone just yet,” McKowen said.
“Most likely these are going go through,” Rooks said.
For the time being students, parents, and staff will have to wait for these changes to be approved or not approved for the class of 2022.
