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At most of the school districts in this area, the numbers tell a story. On Tuesday, the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) released pass rate data for last May’s Standards of Learning (SOL) tests. For Cumberland and Buckingham, what those SOL pass rates showed was steady progress. That’s not to say all problems are fixed, as officials in each district will acknowledge, but year over year, what they’re seeing is growth, both on a district level and in individual schools. That’s not just one year of growth, but constant, sustained improvement on test scores from where they were exiting the pandemic until now. The same is true nearby in Lunenburg and Charlotte counties. Prince Edward, meanwhile, also saw improvement in some areas. 

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.

Hard work pays off in Cumberland

In Cumberland, the message is that hard work pays off. Two years ago, only 58% of Cumberland Elementary students passed their reading exam. Now that’s up to 71%. In math, the school saw a two-year bump from a 67% to 80% pass rate. At Cumberland High, two years ago only 36% of students passed math. Now that’s up to 54%. Science pass rates have jumped over the last two years from 60% to 75%. And even in history, where the jump is a bit smaller, the school saw continued improvement, going from 49% to 55%. 

“That is just a true testament to the dedicated staff we have here, from teachers to administrators to transportation to custodians, it takes everyone to do this,” said Cumberland Superintendent Chip Jones.  

One of the biggest victories Jones points to isn’t in the data itself, but comes in the school district’s chronic absenteeism rate. Go back to the 2021-22 school year and 34% of students were chronically absent. Now that rate’s down to 16%. Basically, students are coming back to the classroom and bit by bit, schools in the district are starting to see that translate into better test scores. 

At the same time, Jones acknowledges that there’s still work to do, both at the schools showing improvement and the one still struggling. Only 44% of students at Cumberland Middle passed their science exam, for example, while in math, the numbers went backwards, from 61% passing two years ago to 58% now.  

Jones said students at the middle school are getting more help to better understand the content. And teachers are going over data with the administration, to figure out the best ways to help them. 

“It’s about working with students when they first walk through the door. It’s about making sure teachers have the support that they need, that they have adequate resources and you’re monitoring the data to see where there are areas that need additional support,” Jones said. We see this is where we are and that is where we need to go. Overall we’re trending in the right direction and we will get there.” 

Buckingham sees positives, negatives with SOL pass rates

Meanwhile in Buckingham County schools, the pass rates showed some improvements and some struggles. One of the biggest issues came at Buckingham High, where several classes took a step back. 

The biggest change came in the Reading SOL pass rates. For the last two years, students had passed at a rate of 82% and 81%, respectively. Now that’s dropped to 67%. Students at the school also struggle with history and social sciences. Two years ago, 47% of Buckingham High students passed their history test. Now that’s down to 45%. Writing pass rates also fell at the school, going from 74% two years ago to 66% now. The one positive for the high school came in science, where the pass rates went from 63% two years ago to 75% this time around. 

Part of the growth in the county’s scores came from the middle school. Math pass rates went from 47% last year to 61% this time. History pass rates improved as well, going from 53% to 57%. Reading scores got a bump, going from 55% to 62%. 

The district also saw growth across the board at the elementary school. In every single test, Buckingham students did better than last year and the year prior. Two years ago, only 37% of Buckingham Elementary students passed their history test. Now that’s up to 61%. In math, the pass rate jump from 47% to 56% during the same period. Science went from 40% pass rate to 53%, while reading went from 56% to 60%. 

Prince Edward shows some growth 

For Prince Edward County, growth continues at the elementary school level. In two of the three SOL tests, elementary students improved on their scores from last year. In history, 69% of elementary students passed, compared to 56% last year. In reading, 63% passed, compared to 57% the year before. The only slight drop, and it is a very slight one, came in math, where 66% passed compared to 67% last year. 

Meanwhile at the middle school, most pass rates dropped from last year. Last year 66% of students at Prince Edward Middle passed their history SOL test. That dropped this year down to 43%. Reading SOL pass rates also saw a slight drop, from 59% to 56%, while science scores also fell, from 55% last year to 49% this time around. The one improvement for the middle school was in math, where scores bumped up from 49% to a 51% pass rate. 

There were also some positives from the high school pass rates. A total of 47% of students at Prince Edward High passed their history test, compared to 30% last year. Math pass rates also improved, from 58% to 62% this year. Science scores, meanwhile, remained the same. A total of 54% passed last year and 54% passed this time. The only two declines came in writing and then a slight one in reading. Writing pass rates went from 67% last year to 55%, while reading dropped from 77% to 75%.