Address questions and comments to the 4x4 High School
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| The SOL Challenge by Clarence M. Edwards, Jr. |
If additional time and instruction can make a difference with the SOL tests,
then the 4x4 is the best answer to the SOL Challenge!
The final step in establishing Virginia's Standards of Learning (SOL's) as the official state measure of effective teaching and learning is now in place. On October 30, 1998, the Board of Education set the passing scores students need to progress through grades K-12 and must achieve to graduate from high school.
To be fully accredited at the secondary level, high schools must maintain a 70% passing rate on the end-of-course SOL tests taken in each of the four core disciplines. Beginning in 2003-04, a school will be denied accreditation if it fails to achieve this 70% passing rate within three years.
The passing rate required of students is higher although retesting will be permitted. Students seeking a Standard Diploma must take at least seven SOL classes and pass 75% or six of eight SOL tests given in these classes. Diploma candidates need to pass two English, one math, one science, one social studies, and one other SOL test. Starting with the Class of 2004, students who fall short will not graduate from high school. Those seeking an Advanced Studies Diploma will have to take all ten SOL classes and pass 82% or nine of eleven SOL tests: two from each core discipline plus any one of three remaining SOL tests.
With stakes this high for both schools and students, the results of the first round of SOL testing makes major change an absolute certainty. The percent passing the seven SOL classes required for the Standard Diploma were: English 11 -- 72%, Algebra I -- 40%, Algebra II -- 31%, Earth Science -- 58%, Biology I -- 72%, World History to 1000 -- 62%, and US History -- 30%. Using the highest six scores in the four disciplines, 60% of the students tested would not graduate under these new requirements. Clearly, major changes must be undertaken immediately if the state's current 75% graduation rate is to be sustained beyond 2003.
Virginia’s ninety-seven 4x4 high schools are in the best position to meet the SOL challenge. Their students take four classes per semester, eight per year, for a total of 32 classes over the four years of high school. With 32 classes available, 4x4 high schools can double the instructional time for each of the ten SOL courses and still leave students enough credits to satisfy both the Standard and Advanced Studies graduation requirements. (See the 4x4 Full-year SOL Options.)
Although the full-year SOL classes are designed to improve scores on the SOL tests, they will also help students earn the additional standard credits required in math, science, and social studies. These full-year two-credit SOL classes are modeled after the very successful year-long two-credit AP courses used by several Virginia 4x4 high schools. They consist of an elective-credit prep class covering the first half of the course SOL’s and a required-credit class covering the remaining SOL’s. Including cumulative course exams each grading period gives students needed SOL exam practice and gives teachers and parents an indication of the score to expect on the "end-of-course" exam. Also, at the end of the Prep class, the teacher, parent, and student can decide whether the student will be ready for "part two" of the SOL class and the "end-of-course" exam or needs more instruction.
Even though the schedule permits doubling the amount of instruction, 4x4 officials must exercise care to avoid forcing students to take full-year SOL courses unnecessarily. Most students should be able to complete the SOL courses in a single semester. Indeed, students need the incentive of completing required classes in one semester and designing their individual program of studies. The sample Advanced Studies Program provided here only leaves the student two open electives. Students following this sample Standard Diploma Program would still have ten open electives, but it would be equally unwise to force them into full-year two-credit SOL classes unnecessarily. The important thing is to have a full array of additional instructional options available when needed.
The adoption of full-year SOL courses will obviously reduce the number of elective courses students can include in their high school programs. But with graduation and school accreditation based on the percentage of students passing the SOL classes and SOL tests, there is no other choice. Schools with traditional 180-day courses will also have to provide additional instruction and remediation to prepare students for the SOL tests. The only way business, fine arts, and vocational teachers will be able to maintain their current enrollment is for students to acquire the needed skills as they progress through the grades. In the sample student schedule given above, if Advanced Studies students do not need the Prep classes or require remediation, they will have ample room for electives and postsecondary study. And the full-year courses leave Standard Diploma students with considerable options.
As Virginia students, teachers, and school officials journey toward academic excellence, they will find the 4x4 schedule to be an invaluable tool in meeting the SOL challenge. The requirement that 100% of Virginia's high school graduates pass both English 11 tests, the Algebra I test, the Earth Science test, and the World History to 1000 test is only part of the SOL challenge. All graduates must also have passed either the Algebra II, Geometry, Biology I, or US History SOL exam. If Virginia students and teachers are to achieve these goals by 2004, they must be free to use all available resources and they must start now!
Note: The new standard credit requirements are in place for the Class of 2002.
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