Fall 2021 Growth Assessments

Beginning with the 2021-2022 school year, students in Virginia public schools will take growth assessments in grades 3-8 reading and mathematics. Legislation passed in the 2021 Virginia General Assembly (HB2027 and SB1357) requires the new assessments to be completed by students in the fall and spring of 2021-2022 in grades 3-8 reading and mathematics to measure growth during the school year. Individual student score reports will be provided with details of how students performed on each test item, but the growth assessments do not include a passing/failing score. The focus on these assessments is on identifying what students have already learned as well as the skills they may need additional help with during this school year.

Full implementation of the legislation will occur in the 2022-2023 school year with assessments in these content areas and grade levels occurring three times during the year: fall, mid-year, and spring. The spring growth assessments will be the regularly occurring Standards of Learning tests.

The assessments students will take - in fall 2021 only - will be based on the previous grade level’s content. For example, a grade 4 student will take an assessment based on grade 3 content in the fall of 2021. The administration of assessments measuring content from the previous grade level in fall of 2021 is intended to assist in the identification of unfinished learning from 2020-2021 due to the pandemic as well as enable students to show growth during the current school year. Please use the link below as a resource.