Charlotte County schools see SOL pass rates continue to climb

The numbers keep going up across the district and that’s a good thing for Charlotte County Public Schools. At the elementary, middle and high school level, student pass rates for the Standards of Learning (SOL) tests rose here in the county, according to data released Tuesday, Aug. 20 by the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE).

Charlotte County Superintendent Robbie Mason said no one person could take the credit for the success. Instead, he highlighted the work of everyone around him.

“Well, we have a really good staff and really good kids, that’s first and foremost,” Mason said. “We have engaged parents and a supportive community. I know it sounds awfully simple when you say it like that, but it’s a new challenge every year. Having good results over time is not easy. There’s no magic pixie dust.”

To be clear, this is not accreditation data. That will come later next month. This is, as several superintendents phrased it, the raw data showing how districts did on the SOL tests both overall and as individual schools. And in Charlotte, there’s a lot to be excited about.

Rates at Charlotte County schools

For the third straight year, the school district’s pass rate in reading is higher than the state average. For the third straight year, math classes did the same thing. And for the third straight, the school district outperformed the state average in both history and science pass rates on their respective SOLs. Mason said the district doesn’t try to overmanage teachers.

“Each teacher has a different comfort level, they have strategies that work for them,” Mason said. “We don’t force a lot of things on our teachers. Our teachers have some autonomy to be able to do some things and if a teacher needs help, we get in there.”

So let’s go through this one at a time. Again, this is the raw pass or fail rates, not accreditation scores. A total of 78% of students in Charlotte County who took the test passed reading, while the state average was at 73%. In math, the state average pass rate was 71%, while 80% of Charlotte students succeeded. For science, 74% of Charlotte students passed, compared to the 68% state average.

Finally, across the board in history, the Virginia average has dropped in recent years, with just 65% of students passing. For Charlotte County schools, the reverse was true, as the pass rate continued to climb. In 21-22, 70% of Charlotte students passed history. Last year, that rose up to 74% and this time, it climbed again to 78%. Mason praised the hard work of his team, to not just show constant growth, but also achieve pass rates nearly 13% above the state average.

Smaller turnover than other districts

Part of it has to do with the fact Charlotte County schools have very little turnover, when it comes to teachers, Mason said. He feels teachers are comfortable, both with their own material and enough to help co-workers, when it’s needed.

“A lot of our veteran teaching staff has remained in place,” Mason said. “They provide some stability, they provide help for newer teachers and some old school ways.”
He also gave credit to the instructional team at the division level.

“Those folks are in the classrooms with those teachers, helping so the kids an bee successful.”

Going through Charlotte County schools

There were also some achievements on the school level as well. At Bacon Elementary, 88% of students passed history, compared to 83% last year. The school’s math scores also continued to climb, going from 89% last year to 90% this time around. But the most impressive improvement at Bacon came in reading, where 83% of students passed. Last year, that number was 69%. At Eureka Elementary, history, math and science pass rates all kept climbing from the mid-80s last year to the high-80s this year. Combing through the data, you also see how several different student groups have been helped. Two years ago, only 45% of female students at Eureka passed science. This year, that number is 94%.

Over at Phenix Elementary, it’s another story about growth. Two years ago, math, science and reading pass rates were all in the low 60% rage. This year, they range from 72% to 80%. While over at Randolph-Henry High, we see constant year over year over year growth. Two years ago, only 56% of students passed their history SOL test. Last year, that was up to 64% and this year, that was up again to 69%.

“Our high school history teachers have really really worked probably harder than anyone,” Mason said. “They’ve gotten into the standards, making sure alignment was correct, making sure the pacing was correct.”

Building a culture

Beyond grades, Mason said the key thing they do at Charlotte is set expectations. Students know what’s required of them and it doesn’t change.

“We have very clear expectations for behavior, we have very clear expectations for what the classrooms are going to look like for our students,” Mason said. “Those are the same from Pre-K to Grade 12. You don’t go from one to the other and the expectations change.”

Mason said he felt there were two benefits with that. First, he believes the consistency is appreciated by teachers and helps with retention. Second, just like in sports or any activity, if students know what to expect and what is expected of them, Mason said, many will work to meet that goal. It’s also about setting expectations early, he added.

“It’s that way from when they walk in as a four year old to the time they graduate in high school,” Mason said. “When you start that young, you get used to it. And that’s not to say some kids don’t act silly at times. But when they do, there are consequences and we hold kids accountable.”

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