The Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA) requires states to set annual and long-term targets for raising the achievement of all students. Virginia schools are focused on the following school quality indicators in meeting the objectives of the federal law:

• Reading performance — percentage of students in the school passing state tests in reading
• Mathematics performance — percentage of students in the school passing state tests in mathematics
• Growth in reading and mathematics — percentage of students in the school either passing state tests in reading and mathematics or making significant progress toward passing
• English learner progress — percentage of English learners making progress toward English-language proficiency
• Chronic absenteeism — percentage of students missing 10 percent or more of the school year, regardless of reason (students receiving homebound and home-based instruction excluded)
• Federal Graduation Indicator — percentage of students graduating within four years of entering the ninth grade with a Standard Diploma or Advanced Studies Diploma

More information about ESSA implementation in Virginia is available on the Virginia Department of Education website. Detailed state assessment results — including results by test type and student groups — are available on VDOE’s Test Results Build-A-Table data tool.

The Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 requires annual testing in reading in grades 3-8 and once during high school. Virginia’s ESSA implementation plan expects that by the 2023-2024 school year, at least 75 percent of all students, and of all students in the student groups listed in this table, will be able to demonstrate grade-level proficiency by passing state reading tests. Annual targets for student groups reflect improvement upon base-line performance from the 2015-2016 school year. Student groups meeting or exceeding annual or long-term targets must improve performance as compared to the previous year. Note: Reading pass rates reported for high schools reflect the performance of a 12th-grade class of students who entered the ninth grade at the same time. More information about ESSA implementation in Virginia is available on the Virginia Department of Education website. Detailed state assessment results — including results by test type and student groups — are available on VDOE’s Test Results Build-A-Table data tool.

The Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 requires annual testing in mathematics in grades 3-8 and once during high school. Virginia’s ESSA implementation plan expects that by the 2023-2024 school year, at least 70 percent of all students, and of all students in the student groups listed in this table, will be able to demonstrate grade-level proficiency by passing state mathematics tests. Annual targets for student groups reflect improvement upon base-line performance during the 2015-2016 school year. Student groups meeting or exceeding annual or long-term targets must improve performance compared to the previous year. Mathematics pass rates reported for high schools reflect the performance of a 12th-grade class of students who entered the ninth grade at the same time. Note: Under Virginia’s approved mathematics waiver from the U.S. Department of Education, students who are enrolled in advanced mathematics courses take the state mathematics test for the course in which they are enrolled. For more information about the mathematics waiver, see “ESSA Mathematics Waiver” in the Glossary. More information about ESSA implementation in Virginia is available on the Virginia Department of Education website. Detailed state assessment results — including results by test type and student groups — are available on VDOE’s Test Results Build-A-Table data tool.

The Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 requires that students take state tests in science at least once during elementary school, once during middle school and once during high school. Note: Science pass rates reported for high schools reflect the performance on the state Biology test of a 12th-grade class of students who entered the ninth grade at the same time.

Virginia encourages schools to provide flexible, in-person instructional make-up time with a licensed teacher outside of normal school hours when a student is absent from school. Beginning with the 2023-2024 school year, the chronic absenteeism rates used for school accreditation include this flexible make-up time.

The chronic absenteeism rate displayed here is referred to as "The Adjusted Chronic Absenteeism Rate" to differentiate it from "The Federal, Unadjusted Chronic Absenteeism Rate" used for school-level federal accountability determinations.

The Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 requires states to set annual and long-term targets for reducing chronic absenteeism.

Virginia’s ESSA implementation plan expects that by the 2023-2024 school year, no more than 10 percent of all students, and of students in the student groups listed in this table, will be chronically absent.

Annual targets for student groups reflect improvement upon base-line data from the 2015-2016 school year.

Student groups meeting or exceeding annual or long-term targets for reducing chronic absenteeism must improve performance compared to the previous year.

The Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 requires states to set annual targets and long-term goals for increasing the percentage of English learners making progress toward attaining English-language proficiency. Virginia also reports on the percentage of English learners who attain proficiency.

The Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 requires states to assess at least 95 percent of students in reading and mathematics in grades 3-8, and to test at least 95 percent of students in reading and mathematics at least once during their high school careers. States also report on the percentage of students assessed in science in elementary school, middle school and in high school (Biology).

Under the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, growth in reading and mathematics is a factor in identifying elementary and middle schools for improvement and increased state support. The percentage of students showing growth in reading and mathematics includes students passing state tests and non-passing students who are making significant progress toward passing.