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Virginian-Pilot
Hampton Roads student pass rates improve in math, science and writing
By Nour Habib, Eliza Noe, The Virginian-Pilot,
22 hours ago
An empty kindergarten classroom at Great Bridge Primary in Chesapeake, Virginia, on April 18, 2024. Billy Schuerman/The Virginian-Pilot/TNS
Most Hampton Roads school divisions saw gains in math and science pass rates last year, according to data released Tuesday by the Virginia Department of Education.
Big gains on the 2023-24 Standards of Learning assessments were also seen across the state in pass rates on the writing assessment.
In Hampton, the division’s science pass rate went up 7 percentage points. Newport News had a 4 percentage point gain and Norfolk saw a 3 percentage point improvement. Several divisions last year attributed gains in science scores to more hands-on activities in the classroom.
Poquoson, York County and Virginia Beach continue to have the highest science pass rates in the area, at 84%, 80% and 78%, respectively.
Some divisions also saw big science gains at the individual school level. In Portsmouth, I.C. Norcom High School had a 20 percentage point increase in science pass rates, Churchland Academy Elementary had a 14 percentage point increase and Cradock Middle School had a 13 percentage point increase.
Math scores also improved across the board. Norfolk saw a 4 percentage point increase in math scores, and Newport News, Portsmouth and Williamsburg-James City County increased pass rates by 3 percentage points each.
Divisions across the state and in Hampton Roads also saw big jumps on writing test scores this year. Norfolk and Portsmouth each had a 16 percentage point gain.
Reading pass rates improved modestly across the board.
At the state level, more than 70% of school divisions have shown improvement in reading in grades 3 to 8, and more than 75% made gains in grades 3 to 8 in math.
Pass rates are still lower, in some cases notably so, than before the pandemic. Disruption to schooling caused by closures and other precautions led to widespread learning loss. Reading, math and science pass rates at all area divisions still have not returned to pre-pandemic levels.
Rates began to improve last year. This year, state officials credit some of the gains to Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s $418 million “All in VA” plan. The plan focused on addressing learning loss, student achievement and chronic absenteeism using several strategies, including “high-dose tutoring.”
The state’s chronic absenteeism, which had spiked after the pandemic, saw a 16% reduction, according to the VDOE, with more than four out of five divisions showing improvement in attendance. Attendance is closely linked to achievement. In grades 3 to 8 this year, chronically absent students — defined as those who missed 10% or more of the school year — performed 19 percentage points below their peers in reading and 26 percentage points below in math.
The state is in the final stages of approving a new school accountability system, which will include a school report card aimed at making it easier for parents to understand school performance. The new report cards are expected to factor student proficiency, or mastery, at 50% to 65% of a school’s overall score, varying across school levels. Growth would account for 20% to 25%. The first report cards are expected to be released next summer.
Below are the pass rates by subject area for the Hampton Roads divisions. The numbers in parenthesis are last year’s pass rates for comparison.
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