Dear families,
The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) has developed a new type of test question for future Standards of Learning (SOL) Reading assessments in grades 5, 8, and high school. Before this new type of test item is administered to students as part of the SOL Reading tests, it is being tried out with students this spring during what is called a field test. Students in grades 5, 8, and high school (usually grade 11) who are scheduled to take the online SOL Reading test will participate in this field test for the new item type.
During the field test, students will read a nonfiction passage online that may be about a history or science topic and then answer four to six questions about what they have read. One question is a writing prompt, or a question that asks students to write about what they have read. Students will complete this online in one session. Currently, the VDOE is only trying out this item type in an online regular format. In the future, this item type will be available in other formats for students needing accommodations such as braille, large print, or audio. Therefore, if your student typically receives one of these accommodations, he/she may not participate in the field test.
Examples of this new item type are available for students, parents, and teachers to view online in what are called “Integrated Reading and Writing Item Sets.” These item sets include examples for grade 5, grade 8, and high school students and can be located using the SOL Practice Items page of the VDOE website. A guide, Integrated Reading and Writing Practice Items, is also available for use with these item sets. The guide gives information about each practice item and how students can use the available online tools.
It is important to know that individual test results from the field test will not be available to students, but results of the field test will be used to make decisions about the use of the new integrated reading and writing item type on state assessments in the future.
Each school division has selected a time for their students to complete the online field test. The field test will occur on 4/5/23 and 4/6/23. Students may have as much time as they need to complete this test during the school day.
If you have questions about this field test, please contact Susan Thrift, Coordinator of Instructional Support and Assessment at sthrift@spotsylvania.k12.va.us.