According to the standards laid out by the Virginia Department of Education, the English SOLs are designed to teach students literacy and effective communication in order to prepare them for the workplace, and college education. The English SOLs in reading work to first teach students how to read fluently, and then become more adept at critical understanding and analysis. Elementary school students begin by learning vocabulary, phonics, and comprehension strategies. Beginning in middle school, students start analyzing what they read more thoroughly. By high school, it’s expected that students will be reading a cross-section of modern and classic literature.
All students within the state are required to take the SOL assessment tests in a variety of subjects. The English reading tests are scored on a scale of 0 – 600. A 400 score is considered the lowest acceptable level for a student with basic proficiency. In order to receive a Virginia high school diploma, students must pass their SOL tests in English, as well as their other subjects.
Beginning in kindergarten, students are expected to be able to recognize common signs, and simple repeated phrases, in addition to identifying characters, and the beginning and ending of a story. By the time students graduate from fifth grade, they will need to demonstrate that they can read fluently, understand fiction and non-fiction passages, employ different reading strategies, and conduct additional research on topics they have read.
By the end of middle school in eighth grade, the Virginia’s SOLs require that students move beyond basic reading and comprehension. Students must be able to use their knowledge to identify literary devices like metaphors and analogies. They have to analyze different writing samples that include poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. Critiquing a text, drawing conclusions from a written passage, and describing literary techniques are also tested skills.
Throughout high school, the SOLs require that students continue to read and understand an increasing number of texts from a variety of sources. By twelfth grade, students will tackle great works by American and British authors. Students will also encounter a variety of literary forms including poetry and plays. Analyzing literary elements like theme, imagery, and structure are also requirements.