The Virginia Department of Education released its anticipated school accountability system on Tuesday, which no longer solely looks at accreditation, but rather uses a points and ranking framework that shows how well a school is doing – a longtime goal of outgoing Gov. Glenn Youngkin. 

Under the new system, points are determined by students’ SOL test results, growth in reading and math, high school graduation rates, chronic absenteeism and even English learners’ progress. The points a school gets is then ranked into one of the state’s four categories – “distinguished,” “on track,” “off track” and “needs intensive support.” 

The system identified five of Richmond city's schools as “distinguished” and nine as “on track.” Twenty-three of the schools are deemed “off track,” and the remaining five are in need of intensive support. Richmond Virtual Academy and Richmond Career Education and Employment Charter School were deemed “too small” to score.

It’s a shift from the accreditation process, which simply checked for compliance with state policies. Earlier this year, 24 out of 44 Richmond schools were fully accredited, with many of those schools now considered “off track.” 

“We at Richmond Public Schools know that we have a long way to go — and that we are also, undeniably, on the rise,” the division wrote in a statement. 

Comparatively, ten of Henrico County Public Schools are “distinguished,” 20 are “on track,” 24 are “off track” and 14 “need intensive support.” Before the accountability system was launched, just three of Henrico’s 68 schools were not fully accredited.

More than half of Henrico’s public schools ranked as ‘off track’ or in need of ‘intensive support’ by new state system

More than half of Henrico schools fell into the bottom two performance categories – “off track” and “needs intensive support” – under the state’s new accountability system released Dec. 9. The Virginia Department of Education’s new school rating system categorizes schools into four groups: “distinguished,” “on track,” “off track,” and

Henrico CitizenLiana Hardy, Government and Education Reporter

All 64 of Chesterfield County Public Schools were previously accredited, but under the new system, 15 are “distinguished,” 22 are “on track,” 13 are “off track” and 14 “need intensive support.”

RPS has been bracing for this moment, as the School Board and administrators began discussing the new system last year. The new system is also coupled with an increase in standards on the SOL test — it will soon take a higher score to pass.

Data: Five things to know about this year’s SOL test scores

Both the local divisions and the state have not returned to pre-pandemic pass rates.

The RichmonderVictoria A. Ifatusin

Superintendent Jason Kamras said in previous Board meetings that with a new governor Abigail Spanberger coming in next year, things could change as she appoints a new State Board of Education. 

Still, the division said in its statement it plans to pay more attention to subgroups of students from schools identified as “off track” and “needs intensive support.”

But along with the work, the division also asked that the state provide additional funding to “match that high bar” it has set for RPS students.  

Contact Reporter Victoria A. Ifatusin at vifatusin@richmonder.org