RICHMOND, Va. — The U.S. Department of Education will not enforce standardized testing for students in elementary through high schools this year as the coronavirus outbreak continues nationwide.
The announcement was made on Friday by President Trump during his daily press conference on coronavirus response efforts. That means the Standards of Learning exams in Virginia could be canceled.
Dr. James Lane, the Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction, told the Virginia Department of Education staff to fill out an application for a statewide waiver from federal requirements for student testing.
VDOE had already extended statewide testing windows for all SOL assessments in all subject areas before the U.S. Dept. of Education waived K-12 standardized testing, but the department asked for further flexibility.
“I thank USED for responding to the pleas of states — including Virginia — for relief during this time of national crisis and for providing a simple and expedited process for requesting waivers,” Dr. Lane said. “I anticipate presenting our waiver application to the state Board of Education in early April and submitting it to Washington immediately upon approval by the board.”
"VDOE has advised school divisions of the flexibility they already have to delay Standards of Learning testing, but it is clear that we now have to take additional steps to ensure that schools and students — especially seniors completing their graduation requirements — are not adversely impacted by circumstances beyond their control."
The two-week statewide shutdown of schools ordered by Governor Ralph Northam came as eighth-graders and high school students were taking SOL writing tests.
"Last week, the U.S. Department of Education said it would consider issuing waivers for individual schools impacted by COVID-19," Lane said. "We are beyond that now, and ask our federal partners for a process to grant statewide relief so states and schools can focus on the health and wellbeing of students."
Lane said he also directed VDOE staff to review state laws and regulations related to state graduation requirements to determine what steps must be taken to ensure that seniors who would otherwise graduate this spring are not denied diplomas.
The VDOE is encouraging school divisions to continue monitoring COVID-19 updates on the Virginia Public Schools website.