Virginia is raising the score students need to pass SOL tests

What happened

On October 14, 2025 Superintendent Dr. Mike Goforth told the board that the Virginia Board of Education has decided to raise SOL cut scores. A cut score is the lowest score a student can get and still be counted as proficient; right now a passing score is 400. The state is raising it because the current scores were set against older standards, from 2016 in math and 2017 in English, while new, harder standards approved in 2023 and 2024 took effect on spring 2025 tests. Dr. Goforth said the change is expected to be phased in over the next four to five years and could change again after a new governor takes office.

Why it matters to families

The same test answers may stop counting as passing. Wise County has finished in the state's top ten on SOL scores for eleven years running, so a higher bar could make its schools' reported results look worse even if teaching does not change.

The evidence

The approved October 14, 2025 minutes record the SOL cut scores discussion, including the definition of a cut score, the current passing score of 400, the 2016 and 2017 standards the old scores were based on, the new 2023 and 2024 standards, and the expected four-to-five-year phase-in.

The source