                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

(EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2026) STANDARD 3. ACCREDITATION, OTHER STANDARDS,
ASSESSMENTS, AND RELEASES FROM STATE REGULATIONS (§ 22.1-253.13:3)

A. The Board shall promulgate regulations establishing standards for
accreditation pursuant to the Administrative Process Act (&#xA7; 2.2-4000 et
seq.), which shall include (i) student outcome and growth measures, (ii)
requirements and guidelines for instructional programs and for the integration
of educational technology into such instructional programs, (iii) administrative
and instructional staffing levels and positions, including staff positions for
supporting educational technology, (iv) student services, (v) auxiliary
education programs such as library and media services, (vi) requirements for
graduation from high school, (vii) community relations, and (viii) the
philosophy, goals, and objectives of public education in the Commonwealth.
			The Board shall promulgate regulations establishing standards for
accreditation of public virtual schools under the authority of the local school
board that enroll students full time.
			The Board&#8217;s regulations establishing standards for accreditation shall
ensure that the accreditation process is transparent and based on objective
measurements and that any appeal of the accreditation status of a school is
heard and decided by the Board.
			The Board shall review annually the accreditation status of all schools in
the Commonwealth. The Board shall review the accreditation status of a school
once every three years if the school has been fully accredited for three
consecutive years. Upon such triennial review, the Board shall review the
accreditation status of the school for each individual year within that
triennial review period. If the Board finds that the school would have been
accredited every year of that triennial review period the Board shall accredit
the school for another three years. The Board may review the accreditation
status of any other school once every two years or once every three years,
provided that any school that receives a multiyear accreditation status other
than full accreditation shall be covered by a Board-approved multiyear
corrective action plan for the duration of the period of accreditation. Such
multiyear corrective action plan shall include annual written progress updates
to the Board. A multiyear accreditation status shall not relieve any school or
division of annual reporting requirements.
			Each local school board shall maintain schools that are fully accredited
pursuant to the standards for accreditation as prescribed by the Board. Each
local school board shall report the accreditation status of all schools in the
local school division annually in public session.
			The Board shall establish a review process to assist any school that does not
meet the standards established by the Board. The relevant school board shall
report the results of such review and any annual progress reports in public
session and shall implement any actions identified through such review and
utilize them for improvement planning.
			The Board shall establish a corrective action plan process for any school
that does not meet the standards established by the Board. Such process shall
require (a) each school board to submit a corrective action plan for any school
in the local school division that does not meet the standards established by the
Board and (b) any school board that fails to demonstrate progress in developing
or implementing any such corrective action plan to enter into a memorandum of
understanding with the Board.
			When the Board determines through its review process that the failure of
schools within a division to meet the standards established by the Board is
related to division-level failure to implement the Standards of Quality or other
division-level action or inaction, the Board may require a division-level
academic review. After the conduct of such review and within the time specified
by the Board, each school board shall enter into a memorandum of understanding
with the Board and shall subsequently submit to the Board for approval a
corrective action plan, consistent with criteria established by the Board
setting forth specific actions and a schedule designed to ensure that schools
within its school division meet the standards established by the Board. If the
Board determines that the proposed corrective action plan is not sufficient to
enable all schools within the division to meet the standards established by the
Board, the Board may return the plan to the local school board with directions
to submit an amended plan pursuant to Board guidance. Such corrective action
plans shall be part of the relevant school division&#8217;s comprehensive plan
pursuant to &#xA7; 22.1-253.13:6.

B. The Superintendent shall develop, subject to revision by the Board, criteria
for determining and recognizing educational performance in the
Commonwealth&#8217;s local school divisions and public schools. The portion of
such criteria that measures individual student growth shall become an integral
part of the accreditation process for schools in which any grade level in the
grade three through eight range is taught. The Superintendent shall annually
report to the Board on the accreditation status of all school divisions and
schools. Such report shall include an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses
of public education programs in the various school divisions in Virginia and
recommendations to the General Assembly for further enhancing student learning
uniformly across the Commonwealth. In recognizing educational performance and
individual student growth in the school divisions, the Board shall include
consideration of special school division accomplishments, such as numbers of
dual enrollments and students in Advanced Placement and International
Baccalaureate courses, and participation in academic year Governor&#8217;s
Schools.
			The Superintendent shall assist local school boards in the implementation of
action plans for increasing educational performance and individual student
growth in those school divisions and schools that are identified as not meeting
the approved criteria, including, when applicable, providing assistance with the
review, grant, and monitoring process set forth in subdivision K 4 of &#xA7;
22.1-253.13:1. The Superintendent shall monitor the implementation of and report
to the Board on the effectiveness of the corrective actions taken to improve the
educational performance in such school divisions and schools.

C. With such funds as are available for this purpose, the Board shall prescribe
assessment methods to determine the level of achievement of the Standards of
Learning objectives by all students in grades three through 12. Such assessments
shall evaluate knowledge, application of knowledge, critical thinking, and
skills related to the Standards of Learning being assessed. In prescribing such
assessment methods, the Board shall:

   1. With the assistance of independent testing experts, conduct a regular
   analysis and validation process for these assessments;

   2. In lieu of a one-time end-of-year assessment, establish, for the purpose of
   providing measures of individual student growth over the course of the school
   year, a through-year growth assessment system, aligned with the Standards of
   Learning, for the administration of reading and mathematics assessments in
   grades three through eight. Such through-year growth assessment system shall
   include at least one beginning-of-year, one mid-year, and one end-of-year
   assessment in order to provide individual student growth scores over the
   course of the school year, but the total time scheduled for taking all such
   assessments shall not exceed 150 percent of the time scheduled for taking a
   single end-of-year proficiency assessment. The Department shall ensure
   adequate training for teachers and principals on how to interpret and use
   student growth data from such assessments to improve reading and mathematics
   instruction in grades three through eight throughout the school year. With
   such funds and content as are available for such purpose, such through-year
   growth assessment system shall provide accurate measurement of a
   student&#8217;s performance, through computer adaptive technology, using test
   items at, below, and above the student&#8217;s grade level as necessary;

   3. Provide the option of industry certification and state licensure
   examinations as a student-selected credit;

   4. Make available to school divisions Standards of Learning assessments
   typically administered by high schools by December 1 of the school year in
   which such assessments are to be administered or when newly developed
   assessments are available, whichever is later;

   5. Make publicly available such assessments in a timely manner and as soon as
   practicable following the administration of such tests, so long as the release
   of such assessments does not compromise test security or deplete the bank of
   assessment questions necessary to construct subsequent tests, or limit the
   ability to test students on demand and provide immediate results in the
   web-based assessment system;

   6. Prescribe alternative methods of Standards of Learning assessment
   administration for children with disabilities, as that term is defined in
   &#xA7; 22.1-213, who meet criteria established by the Board to demonstrate
   achievement of the Standards of Learning. An eligible student&#8217;s
   Individual Education Program team shall make the final determination as to
   whether an alternative method of administration is appropriate for the
   student;

   7. To assess the educational progress of students, (i) develop appropriate
   assessments, which may include criterion-referenced tests and other assessment
   instruments that may be used by classroom teachers; (ii) select appropriate
   industry certification and state licensure examinations; and (iii) prescribe
   and provide measures, which may include nationally normed tests to be used to
   identify students who score in the bottom quartile at selected grade levels;

   8. Not include in its calculation of the passage rate for a Standards of
   Learning assessment or the level of achievement of the Standards of Learning
   objectives for an individual student growth assessment for the purposes of
   state accountability any student whose parent has decided to not have his
   child take such Standards of Learning assessment, unless such exclusions would
   result in the school&#8217;s not meeting any required state or federal
   participation rate;

   9. Permit any teacher providing instruction in a Standards of Learning subject
   area who scores any such Standards of Learning assessments to earn
   professional development points toward renewal of his license for his time
   spent scoring such assessments;

   10. Require each assessment, including each Standards of Learning assessment
   administered as a part of the through-year growth assessment system
   established pursuant to subdivision 2, each mandatory local alternative
   assessment implemented by a school board pursuant to subdivision E 1 a (2),
   and each permissive local alternative assessment administered by a school
   board pursuant to subdivision E 3 b, to be scored on a 100-point scale in
   accordance with statewide scoring rubrics;

   11. Make available to each student and his parents within 45 days of any state
   assessment window closing for any such assessment administration an
   individualized student score report for each such assessment, developed in
   accordance with the Board&#8217;s guidelines, that shall include, at a
   minimum: (i) a description of the applicable assessment; (ii) individualized
   data on such student&#8217;s assessment performance; (iii) a comparison of
   such student&#8217;s performance on such assessment with the performance of
   the student&#8217;s school, school division, and the Commonwealth; and (iv)
   guidance to assist the student and his parents in interpreting such
   student&#8217;s assessment results; and

   12. Publicly release the statewide Standards of Learning assessment results
   and any associated data no later than the date on which individual Standards
   of Learning assessment scores for the applicable assessment administration
   period are released to individual students and parents.
   				For any period during which the Standards of Learning contents or
   assessments in a specific content area are being revised or phased in, the
   Board may adopt special provisions related to the administration and use of
   any Standards of Learning test or tests in such content area as applied to
   accreditation ratings for such period. Prior to statewide administration of
   such tests, the Board shall provide notice to local school boards regarding
   such special provisions. The Department shall develop processes for informing
   school divisions of changes in the Standards of Learning requirements,
   including any revisions to Standards of Learning contents or assessments.

D. The Board shall include in the student outcome and growth measures that are
required by the standards of accreditation the required assessments for various
grade levels and classes, including the completion of the mandatory local
alternative assessments implemented by each local school board pursuant to
subdivision E 1 a (2), in accordance with the Standards of Learning. These
assessments shall include end-of-course tests for English, mathematics, science,
and history and social science and may be integrated to include multiple subject
areas.

E. All assessment methods prescribed by the Board to determine the level of
achievement of the Standards of Learning objectives, pursuant to subsections C
and D, shall be developed, implemented, and administered in accordance with the
following:

   1. The assessments administered to students in grades three through eight,
   except for those students with disabilities, as that term is defined in §
   22.1-213, who participate in an alternative assessment pursuant to subdivision
   C 6, shall:
   				a. Consist of:

      1. Standards of Learning assessments, including end-of-year assessments
      administered as part of the through-year growth assessment system
      established pursuant to subdivision C 2. The Standards of Learning
      assessments shall not exceed (i) reading and mathematics in grades three and
      four; (ii) reading, mathematics, and science in grade five; (iii) reading
      and mathematics in grades six and seven; (iv) reading, writing, and
      mathematics in grade eight; (v) science after the student receives
      instruction in the grade six science, life science, and physical science
      Standards of Learning and before the student completes grade eight; and (vi)
      Virginia Studies and Civics and Economics once each at the grade levels
      deemed appropriate by each local school board. The reading and mathematics
      assessments administered to students in grades three through eight shall be
      through-year growth assessments pursuant to subdivision C 2.
      					The Department shall award recovery credit to any student in grades
      three through eight who performs below grade level on a Standards of
      Learning assessment in English reading or mathematics, receives remediation,
      and subsequently retakes and performs at or above grade level on such an
      assessment, including any such student who subsequently retakes such an
      assessment on an expedited basis; and

      2. Local alternative assessments, including any permissive local alternative
      assessments administered in accordance with subdivision 3 b and mandatory
      local alternative assessments administered by each school board in each
      Standards of Learning subject area in which a Standards of Learning
      assessment is not available for administration during the school year. Each
      school board shall annually certify that it has provided instruction and
      administered each mandatory local alternative assessment in accordance with
      this subdivision and Board guidelines. Such guidelines shall (i) incorporate
      options for age-appropriate, authentic performance assessments and
      portfolios with rubrics and other methodologies designed to ensure that
      students are making adequate academic progress in the subject area and that
      the Standards of Learning content is being taught; (ii) permit and encourage
      integrated assessments that include multiple subject areas; (iii) establish
      criteria for mandatory local alternative assessments, including the core
      content, concepts, and skills that shall be prioritized on each such
      assessment and specific parameters for any performance assessment
      administered by a school board in accordance with this subdivision, relating
      to the structure and format of and content and items that shall be included
      in such assessments; (iv) include a comprehensive grading rubric for each
      mandatory local alternative assessment that (a) clearly defines student
      performance objectives and achievement targets, (b) provides scoring
      criteria that emphasizes student performance and subject-matter proficiency,
      and (c) for any performance assessment, includes criteria and student
      performance objectives designed to emphasize a student&#8217;s performance
      and subject-matter proficiency as demonstrated through completion of the
      tested tasks in ways that are authentic to the academic discipline; and (v)
      emphasize collaboration between teachers to administer and substantiate the
      assessments and the professional development of teachers to enable them to
      make the best use of mandatory local alternative assessments.
      					b. With such funds as may be appropriated for such purpose, except as
      provided in subdivision C 6, be developed consistent with Board guidelines
      and in accordance with subdivision 5; and
      					c. Be used to identify students who show deficiencies or a need for
      academic support in a specific subject area or skill for the purpose of
      ensuring such students receive appropriate remediation or intervention.
      Local school divisions shall provide targeted mathematics remediation and
      intervention to students in grades six through eight who show computational
      deficiencies as demonstrated by their individual performance on any
      diagnostic test or grade-level Standards of Learning mathematics test that
      measures non-calculator computational skills.

   2. The assessments administered to students in grades nine through 12, except
   for those students with disabilities, as that term is defined in &#xA7;
   22.1-213, who participate in an alternative assessment pursuant to subdivision
   C 6:
   				a. Shall consist, for each student, of only the end-of-course Standards of
   Learning assessments necessary to meet federal accountability requirements
   established by the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965,
   P.L. 89-10, as amended, and to meet Virginia high school graduation
   requirements. For the purposes of this subdivision, any student who receives a
   passing score on a permissive local alternative assessment administered
   pursuant to subdivision 3 b in lieu of any end-of-course Standards of Learning
   assessment corresponding to any graduation requirement shall be deemed to meet
   the applicable graduation requirement; and
   				b. With such funds as may be appropriated for such purpose, except as
   provided in subdivision C 6, shall be developed consistent with Board
   guidelines and in accordance with the provisions of subdivision 5.

   3. Any end-of-course Standards of Learning assessment administered to students
   in grades three through 12, except for those students with disabilities, as
   that term is defined in &#xA7; 22.1-213, who participate in an alternative
   assessment pursuant to subdivision C 6, shall be subject to the following
   requirements:
   				a. A school board may, but need not, elect to administer any available
   end-of-course Standards of Learning assessment in a specific Standards of
   Learning subject area to students in a specific grade level the administration
   of which is (i) not necessary to meet federal accountability requirements
   established by the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965,
   P.L. 89-10, as amended, and (ii) is not required by the provisions of
   subdivision E 1 or 2 or by any other applicable state law or regulation.
   However, any school board that elects to administer such an end-of-course
   Standards of Learning assessment pursuant to this subdivision shall be
   required to administer such assessment to each student receiving instruction
   in that subject area at that grade level;
   				b. Any school board may, but need not, administer a permissive local
   alternative assessment in a specific subject area to students in a specific
   grade level in lieu of any end-of-course Standards of Learning assessment the
   administration of which is not necessary to meet federal accountability
   requirements established by the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act
   of 1965, P.L. 89-10, as amended, but which may be required in that subject
   area and at that grade level pursuant to state law or regulation; and
   				c. Any student who performs below grade level on any such Standards of
   Learning assessment or any permissive local alternative assessment
   administered pursuant to subdivision b shall be eligible to retake such
   assessment, provided that (i) no student may retake an assessment after June
   30 of the calendar year in which the applicable assessment was administered,
   unless the school board of the school in which the student is enrolled grants
   such student permission to retake such assessment at a later date; (ii) any
   student who, pursuant to applicable Board regulations, is eligible for an
   expedited retake of an assessment shall retake such assessment within two
   weeks of the date on which scoring was completed for such student&#8217;s
   assessment, unless it is determined that additional time is necessary in order
   for such student to complete the comprehensive remediation program required to
   establish eligibility for an expedited retake in accordance with Board
   regulations; and (iii) if applicable, the score any student receives on any
   assessment retake shall not replace the initial score the student received on
   the assessment taken during the regular assessment administration period for
   the purpose of calculating the student&#8217;s final grade in the course in
   accordance with subdivision 4.

   4. For students in grades seven through 12, except in the case of any
   assessments administered as a part of a competency-based assessment system,
   any Standards of Learning assessment or permissive local alternative
   assessment permitted pursuant to subdivision 3 b or, if any such assessment
   consists of more than one part, each of which has a separate administration
   period, the final part of any such end-of-course assessment shall be
   administered no earlier than two weeks prior to the last day of the school
   year. No additional end-of-course assessment shall be administered for any
   such Standards of Learning subject area. Each student&#8217;s score on any
   such assessment shall account for at least 10 percent of the student&#8217;s
   final grade in such course.

   5. For the purpose of maximizing instructional time, the frequency of
   assessment administration for any assessment administered pursuant to the
   provisions of this section, including any Standards of Learning assessment,
   mandatory local alternative assessment administered in accordance with
   subdivision 1 a (2), permissive local alternative assessment administered in
   accordance with subdivision 3 b, or performance assessment administered as a
   part of any school board&#8217;s mandatory local alternative assessment plan,
   or any combination thereof, for each Standards of Learning subject area in a
   single school year shall not exceed one such assessment per academic quarter,
   or a total of four assessments per year.

   6. For any student awarded a scholarship under the Brown v. Board of Education
   Scholarship Program, pursuant to &#xA7; 30-231.2, who is enrolled in a
   preparation program for a high school equivalency examination approved by the
   Board or in an adult basic education program or an adult secondary education
   program to obtain the high school diploma or a high school equivalency
   certificate, the Standards of Learning requirements, including all related
   assessments, shall be waived.

F. The Board may pursue all available civil remedies pursuant to &#xA7;
22.1-19.1 or administrative action pursuant to &#xA7; 22.1-292.1 for breaches in
test security and unauthorized alteration of test materials or test results.
			The Board may initiate or cause to be initiated a review or investigation of
any alleged breach in security, unauthorized alteration, or improper
administration of tests, including the exclusion of students from testing who
are required to be assessed, by local school board employees responsible for the
distribution or administration of the tests.
			Records and other information furnished to or prepared by the Board during
the conduct of a review or investigation may be withheld pursuant to subdivision
10 of &#xA7; 2.2-3705.3. However, this section shall not prohibit the disclosure
of records to (i) a local school board or division superintendent for the
purpose of permitting such board or superintendent to consider or to take
personnel action with regard to an employee or (ii) any requester, after the
conclusion of a review or investigation, in a form that (a) does not reveal the
identity of any person making a complaint or supplying information to the Board
on a confidential basis and (b) does not compromise the security of any test
mandated by the Board. Any local school board or division superintendent
receiving such records or other information shall, upon taking personnel action
against a relevant employee, place copies of such records or information
relating to the specific employee in such person&#8217;s personnel file.
			Notwithstanding any other provision of state law, no test or examination
authorized by this section, including the Standards of Learning assessments,
shall be released or required to be released as minimum competency tests, if, in
the judgment of the Board, such release would breach the security of such test
or examination or deplete the bank of questions necessary to construct future
secure tests.

G. With such funds as may be appropriated, the Board may provide, through an
agreement with vendors having the technical capacity and expertise to provide
computerized tests and assessments, and test construction, analysis, and
security, for (i) web-based computerized tests and assessments, including
computer-adaptive Standards of Learning assessments, for the evaluation of
student progress during and after remediation and (ii) the development of a
remediation item bank directly related to the Standards of Learning.

H. To assess the educational progress of students as individuals and as groups,
each local school board shall require the use of Standards of Learning
assessments, alternative assessments, and other relevant data, such as industry
certification and state licensure examinations, to evaluate student progress and
to determine educational performance. Each local school board shall require the
administration of appropriate assessments to students, which may include
criterion-referenced tests and teacher-made tests and shall include the
Standards of Learning assessments, the local school board&#8217;s alternative
assessments, and the National Assessment of Educational Progress state-by-state
assessment. Each school board shall provide teachers, parents, principals, and
other school leaders with their students&#8217; results on any Standards of
Learning assessment or Virginia Alternate Assessment Program assessment as soon
as practicable after the assessment is administered. Each school board shall
analyze and report annually, in compliance with any criteria that may be
established by the Board, the results from industry certification examinations
and the Standards of Learning assessments to the public.
			The Board shall include requirements for the reporting of the Standards of
Learning assessment data, regardless of accreditation frequency, as part of the
Board&#8217;s requirements relating to the School Performance Report Card. Such
scores shall be disaggregated for each school by student subgroups on the
Virginia assessment program as appropriate and shall be reported to the public
within three months of their receipt. These reports (i) shall be posted on the
portion of the Department&#8217;s website relating to the School Performance
Report Card, in a format and in a manner that allows year-to-year comparisons,
and (ii) may include the National Assessment of Educational Progress
state-by-state assessment.

I. Each local school division superintendent shall regularly review the
division&#8217;s submission of data and reports required by state and federal
law and regulations to ensure that all information is accurate and submitted in
a timely fashion. The Superintendent shall provide a list of the required
reports and data to division superintendents annually. The status of compliance
with this requirement shall be included in the Board&#8217;s annual report to
the Governor and the General Assembly as required by &#xA7; 22.1-18.

J. Any school board may request the Board for release from state regulations or,
on behalf of one or more of its schools, for approval of an Individual School
Accreditation Plan for the evaluation of the performance of one or more of its
schools as authorized for certain other schools by the Standards for
Accreditation pursuant to 8VAC20-131-280 C of the Virginia Administrative Code.
Waivers of regulatory requirements may be granted by the Board based on
submission of a request from the division superintendent and chairman of the
local school board. The Board may grant, for a period up to five years, a waiver
of regulatory requirements that are not (i) mandated by state or federal law or
(ii) designed to promote health or safety. The school board shall provide in its
waiver request a description of how the releases from state regulations are
designed to increase the quality of instruction and improve the achievement of
students in the affected school or schools. The Department shall provide (a)
guidance to any local school division that requests releases from state
regulations and (b) information about opportunities to form partnerships with
other agencies or entities to any local school division in which the school or
schools granted releases from state regulations have demonstrated improvement in
the quality of instruction and the achievement of students.
			The Board may also grant local school boards waivers of specific requirements
in &#xA7; 22.1-253.13:2, based on submission of a request from the division
superintendent and chairman of the local school board, permitting the local
school board to assign instructional personnel to the schools with the greatest
needs, so long as the school division employs a sufficient number of personnel
divisionwide to meet the total number required by &#xA7; 22.1-253.13:2 and all
pupil/teacher ratios and class size maximums set forth in subsection C of &#xA7;
22.1-253.13:2 are met. The school board shall provide in its request a
description of how the waivers from specific Standards of Quality staffing
standards are designed to increase the quality of instruction and improve the
achievement of students in the affected school or schools. The waivers may be
renewed in up to five-year increments, or revoked, based on student achievement
results in the affected school or schools.

K. The Board shall:

   1. Make available to each local school division each Standards of Learning
   assessment for each subject area administered during the previous school year,
   including the applicable answer key or grading rubric for each such
   assessment, by the beginning of the current school year for the purpose of
   ensuring that such assessments are available to each teacher for use as
   practice assessments for students; and

   2. Perform an annual audit of a certain percentage, as determined by the
   Board, of such mandatory local alternative assessments implemented by a school
   board pursuant to subdivision E 1 a (2) for the purpose of ensuring such
   assessments are consistent with Board guidelines and ensuring the quality and
   rigor of such assessments are consistent across school divisions and years.
   Any school board, in order to administer a permissive local alternative
   assessment, shall (i) submit to the Board by July 31 of each year for which it
   plans on administering a permissive local alternative assessment notice of its
   intent to administer such permissive local alternative assessment, including
   an acknowledgement that such permissive local alternative assessment may be
   selected for a random audit as a part of the annual Board audit required
   pursuant to this subdivision and that failure of such audit shall result in an
   additional audit of any such permissive local alternative assessment
   administered by the school board the succeeding school year, the failure of
   which shall result in such school board being prohibited from administering a
   permissive local alternative assessment for the next four years and (ii) after
   administering such permissive local alternative assessment, annually certify
   to the Board that it has provided instruction in the applicable Standards of
   Learning subject area and developed and administered the permissive local
   alternative assessment in accordance with this subdivision and Board
   guidelines. The Board shall perform an annual audit of a certain percentage,
   as determined by the Board, of such permissive local alternative assessments
   administered by any school board for the purpose of ensuring such assessments
   are developed and administered in accordance with this subdivision and Board
   guidelines and ensuring the quality and rigor of such assessments are
   consistent across school divisions and years. Failure of the Board audit for
   any permissive local alternative assessment shall have no impact on the grade
   or credits earned in the applicable subject area or course by any student to
   whom such permissive local alternative assessment was administered. Any
   permissive local alternative assessment administered by a school board,
   regardless of whether it is selected for and fails a Board audit, shall for
   each student to whom it was administered be scored, weighted, and factored
   into each student&#8217;s grade, and, if applicable, result in the award of
   the same amount and type of verified credits as any other end-of-course
   assessment administered in that subject area and at that grade level.

L. Any assessment administered to students in grades three through 12, except
for those students with disabilities, as that term is defined in § 22.1-213,
who participate in an alternative assessment pursuant to subdivision C 6, shall
be subject to the following requirements:

   1. Any assessment shall, with such funds as may be appropriated for such
   purpose, include (i) items that require the student to apply knowledge,
   critical thinking skills, and logic in preparing a response, including
   open-ended questions and long-form writing, and other tasks, as appropriate
   for the applicable subject, and (ii) different items and questions on each
   assessment administered during the same school year and in the same grade and
   Standards of Learning subject area such that such students are not tested on
   the same items or questions on one assessment as they were on a previous
   assessment administered during that school year in that grade or subject area;
   and

   2. Any multiple choice questions included as a part of (i) any such assessment
   shall be representative of the Standards of Learning objectives and content
   for the applicable subject area for the school year; (ii) any end-of-course
   Standards of Learning assessment or permissive local alternative assessment
   administered pursuant to subdivision E 3 b shall be narrowly tailored to test
   students only on the most significant content for the applicable subject area,
   in accordance with the Board&#8217;s guidelines; and (iii) any performance
   assessment administered as a part of a mandatory local alternative assessment
   in accordance with subdivision E 1 a (2) or otherwise administered as the
   final performance assessment for that course or school year shall consist of
   no more than 40 thematic questions focused on the broad, overarching themes
   and topics of the applicable subject area and shall either be developed in
   accordance with or selected from the multiple choice question test bank
   developed by the Board.

M. As used in this section:
			&#8220;End-of-course Standards of Learning assessment&#8221; means any
end-of-course, end-of-grade, or end-of-year Standards of Learning assessment or
any Standards of Learning assessment administered at the conclusion of a course,
grade, or school year.
			&#8220;Local alternative assessment&#8221; means (i) an assessment that
measures content and skills within a specific Standards of Learning subject area
that is accepted by institutions of higher education as a measure of college
readiness, including Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or
Cambridge assessments, or (ii) any mandatory local alternative assessment
developed, administered, and scored by a local school board, that is approved by
the Board as aligned with the rigor of Standards of Learning content,
assessments, and the Board&#8217;s definition of proficiency for any Standards
of Learning subject area. &#8220;Local alternative assessment&#8221; includes
any mandatory local alternative assessment and any permissive local alternative
assessment.
			&#8220;Mandatory local alternative assessment&#8221; means any local
alternative assessment that each local school board is required to develop,
administer, and score, consistent with Board guidelines, for any Standards of
Learning subject area in which a Standards of Learning assessment is not
currently available or administered on a statewide basis. &#8220;Mandatory local
alternative assessment&#8221; includes any performance assessment implemented by
a local school board as a part of its local alternative assessment plan in
accordance with Department guidelines.
			&#8220;Performance assessment&#8221; means an assessment that is approved by
the Board as aligned with both the rigor of the content of the Standards of
Learning and the Board&#8217;s definition of proficiency and is scored using a
set rubric or set of criteria and that is designed to measure subject-matter
proficiency by requiring students to demonstrate learning acquisition and apply
content, skills, and processes in the applicable subject area through performing
a task or creating a project.
			&#8220;Permissive local alternative assessment&#8221; means any local
alternative assessment that a local school board may, consistent with Board
guidelines and in accordance with the provisions of this section, develop,
administer, and score in lieu of any Standards of Learning assessment that is
otherwise administered on a statewide basis but the administration of which is
not necessary to meet federal accountability requirements.
			&#8220;Standards of Learning assessment&#8221; means those
criterion-referenced assessments approved by the Board that measure attainment
of knowledge and skills required by the Standards of Learning. &#8220;Standards
of Learning assessment&#8221; includes any end-of-course standards of learning
assessment.

HISTORY: 1988, cc. 645, 682; 1990, cc. 820, 839; 1992, c. 591; 1998, cc. 456,
567, 602, 627, 843, 902; 1999, cc. 670, 731, 1015; 2000, cc. 504, 735, 742, 750,
752, 867, 1061; 2001, cc. 651, 731; 2002, cc. 101, 167, 656, 732; 2003, cc. 691,
1004; 2004, cc. 472, 939, 955, 965; 2005, cc. 331, 450, 753, 834; 2006, cc. 25,
38, 95, 117, 131; 2007, c. 234; 2009, c. 825; 2010, c. 76; 2011, cc. 248, 666;
2012, c. 183; 2013, cc. 539, 571, 584, 728; 2014, cc. 84, 585, 622; 2015, cc.
145, 149, 322, 323, 558, 566; 2016, cc. 386, 387, 502, 522, 720, 750; 2017, cc.
328, 778; 2019, c. 585; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, cc. 443, 444; 2022, c. 355; 2023, cc.
158, 159; 2025, cc. 675, 680, 683.