The Virginia Department of Education has passed a bill stating that the Standards of Learning tests (SOLs) will now be a part of a student’s final grade, according to WTKR News.
The bill is planned to take effect during the 2026-2027 school year. An SOL will weigh 10% of a student’s final grade and will now be scored out of 100 instead of the current 600, according to the bill which was passed on May 2, 2025.
“I feel like this change has potential to work wonderfully and could help students to bring their final grade up; however, I feel that it is just unnecessary,” freshman and academy student Dang Vo said.
In the future, Dang will be affected by this bill since he will take the English 11 SOL during the 2026-2027 school year.
Legislators hope that with SOLs now being weighted, students will be incentivized to score higher and bump up standardized test scores across the state.
“Adding the 10% weight to the SOL is like putting a single sprinkle on a finished cake; it is there, but it’s insignificant,” Dang said.
