Information for Families about Testing & Assessments

As we approach the end of the school year, students will be participating in spring assessments based on their grade level and courses. A list of assessments for each grade level provides the spring dates for required tests. Spring assessments may come in many formats.

Summative assessments like Standards of Learning (SOL), Advanced Placement (AP), and International Baccalaureate (IB) exams measure how students have learned content and skills from coursework.

Progress assessments like Virginia Language and Literacy Screening System (VALLSS), Virginia Kindergarten Readiness Program (VKRP), iReady, and Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) measure improvements in grade-level skills since the fall.

Performance assessments allow students to demonstrate strengths and competencies, such as Portrait of a Graduate (POG) or Career and Technical Education (CTE).

Classroom assessments are part of ongoing teaching and learning. Teachers may assign culminating projects or final exams for certain subjects or courses. 

Look in the SIS ParentVUE Documents section to find student score reports following each assessment window throughout the year. A webpage for each assessment provides translations and information to interpret scores.  

• Academic screening and growth assessments - Virginia Language and Literacy Screening System (VALLSS), Earnly Mathematics Assessment System (EMAS), iReady, and Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) Growth tests
• Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Screener
• Standards of Learning (SOL) tests, including integrated reading and writing (IRW)
• Virginia Alternate Assessment System (VAAP)
• Annual English language proficiency assessment - WIDA ACCESS 
• WorkKeys

Watch for score reports to be distributed from your student’s school for the following assessments. A webpage for each assessment provides translations and information to interpret scores. 

Distributed to ALL Families With Participating Students:

• Advanced academic program screeners - CogAT and NNAT3
• Iowa Algebra Aptitude Test (IAAT)

Distributed ONLY to Families Without ParentVUE Accounts:

• Academic screening and growth assessments - Virginia Language and Literacy Screening System (VALLSS), Earnly Mathematics Assessment System (EMAS), iReady, and Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) Growth tests
• Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Screener
• Standards of Learning (SOL) tests, including integrated reading and writing (IRW)
• Virginia Alternate Assessment System (VAAP)
• Annual English language proficiency assessment - WIDA ACCESS 
• WorkKeys

If your student took part in a college readiness assessment or college-level exam results are accessed directly from the testing organization.  

• ACT weekend tests
• Advanced Placement (AP) exams 
• International Baccalaureate (IB) exams
• Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) 
• SAT School Day and SAT weekend tests

State and federal assessment expectations impact opportunities to refuse testing. 

• Virginia regulations do not include what is sometimes referred to as an "opt out policy" for state summative assessments. However, state law allows parents and guardians to refuse SOL and VAAP testing for their children. FCPS provides a process for schools to use when caregivers wish to refuse these state assessments. Schools use this process to make sure caregivers understand what refusal means for the student, including any potential impact for on-time graduation. 
• Federal law does not provide for parents and guardians to "opt out" or "refuse" English language proficiency assessments, including WIDA ACCESS. However, parents and guardians may choose to decline participation for their children. FCPS provides a process for schools to use when caregivers wish to decline participation for these federal assessments. Schools use this process to make sure caregivers understand what declining participation means for the student. 

1. Standards of Learning (SOL) or Virginia Alternate Assessment Program (VAAP): According to the Code of Virginia, the state assessments are required for:
   • All students in grades 3-8 for all tested subjects at the grade level;
   • All high school students taking a course with an associated test and needing the test for federal participation or verified credit to graduate.  
2. WIDA ACCESS for ELLs 2.0: All multilingual learners in Virginia are expected to take the WIDA or another approved English language proficiency assessment. 

FCPS students are also expected to take certain standardized tests to provide schools with information for planning appropriate, high-quality learning experiences. Like with state assessments, parents and guardians may refuse division-required standardized testing for their children. Contact the child's school for additional information about refusal.

1. Screening, Growth, and Diagnostic Assessments: These tests are used for students in grades PreK-12 for reading, mathematics, and social-emotional learning skills. Some screening and growth tests fulfill state reporting requirements for the division. Examples of screening, growth, and diagnostic tests include the Virginia Language and Literacy Screening System (VALLSS), iReady tests, Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) Growth tests, Cognitive Abiliities Test (CogAT), and Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Screener survey.
2. Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT): This test provides information to support course planning and student access to postsecondary education. 

Other assessments are embedded as part of daily learning in the classroom. Refusal is not available for assessments that are embedded in the curriculum. This includes:

• Local alternative assessments used place of SOL tests in some grade levels
• Performance assessments used for locally awarded verified in some high school social studies courses
• Systemwide common assessments, such as unit assessments, used to monitor learning of content standards
• Quizzes and exit tickets designed by the teacher to check for understanding

A parent or guardian should consider the following important points before deciding to refuse any test:

• If the student is in high school, refusing certain SOL tests could impact on-time graduation. Virginia requires verified credits to earn a standard or advanced studies diploma, and SOL tests are the most common way credits are verified. 
• Refusing a SOL Reading test in grade 5, grade 8, or high school automatically includes refusal of the integrated reading and writing (IRW) component.
• Certain division-mandated tests (such as iReady, IAAT, CogAT, MAP Growth, etc.) are used to help a school identify appropriate placement for the student in advanced academic, enrichment, intervention, and other programs. While no single test is used in isolation to make such decisions, in some cases when the student does not test, his or her appropriate placement could be temporarily delayed.
• If a student does not test, the school will not have academic data from the assessment to inform plans for their classroom instruction and will rely on information from other assessments and data sources. 
• As more students do not participate in assessments, it can become more challenging for the school to gain a clear reflection of how it is meeting the instructional needs of its students as a whole.

A parent or guardian should consider the following additional implications before refusing SOL or VAAP tests:

• The student will be assigned a score of zero (0) for each SOL or VAAP test refused.   
• The student's score reports and academic records will display the score of zero (0), but will not directly impact their course grade or access to future coursework.

If caregivers choose to refuse testing for one or more tests administered in FCPS, they should first contact their student's school. The assessment coach, school test coordinator, or the student's teacher can address questions the caregivers may have about the test content, format, and purpose. The Office of Assessment and Reporting is another resource for caregivers to better understand FCPS assessment expectations for students. After speaking with school staff, caregivers that are choosing to refuse the testing will need to officially notify the school of this decision. For certain tests like SOL and WIDA, the school will need to document the family or caregiver decision for state reporting. A form, letter, email, or documented phone conversation may be accepted for the refusal. Family or caregiver refusal of testing must be updated annually.

School Board policy prohibits schools and teachers from giving tests, quizzes, or other assessments on a designated Religious/Cultural Observance Day. If a student is scheduled to take a required assessment on the day following a Religious/Cultural Observance Day, school staff must communicate the test schedule at least seven (7) calendar days in advance.

With the hundreds of cultures and dozens of religions represented in the FCPS community, it is certain that some observance days important to students and families are not included in the FCPS school year calendar. Sometimes, these additional observance days may coincide with scheduled tests for a student's grade level. In these cases, schools and families often need to work together to determine if schedule adjustments are needed and, if so, how best to meet students' needs, given testing guidelines and available school resources. Examples of adjustments that may be appropriate in some cases include:

• Arranging an alternative or make-up testing date if the student will need to be out of school on the scheduled date;
• When an observance involves fasting, scheduling test sessions in the morning when energy levels are likely to be highest.

When an observance is not on the FCPS calendar, parents and guardians are encouraged to:

1. Review the division testing dates for required assessments at each student's current grade level.
2. Contact school staff to let them know about any religious or cultural observance students will be observing this year that are within the division testing windows.
3. Talk with school staff about the specific schedule planned for each student's tests as the testing window approaches. Keep in mind schools may not have the full details until a few weeks before testing begins.
4. Share any concerns about each student's observance impacting test performance and work with school staff to determine the best option to address the student's needs. 

The Virginia Department of Education, College Board, and other entities overseeing standardized test practices establish guidelines and restrictions on student access to personal electronic devices, such as cell phones, within the test environment. These restrictions are designed to maintain test security and to minimize potential distractions while students are taking tests. Students are not permitted to take SOL tests on their personally-owned devices; all online SOL testing must use FCPS-owned computers. 

1. Lock it up. If students forget and bring their personal devices to school on a testing day, they will need to find a secure location to store the device at school to avoid taking it into the testing environment. School staff may assist students in finding a safe place for their personal devices, as needed. 
   1. Be familiar with the cell phone storage rules and options at your school. 
   2. Be familiar with student rights and responsibilities for cell phone usage
2. Know the consequences. If a student fails to secure his or her personal electronic device and brings it into the test environment, he or she will be subject to procedures for addressing test security concerns. Depending on the type of test and the situation, this could include penalties up to and including:
   • Confiscating the student's personal device 
   • Rescheduling the student's test session to another day or time
   • Identifying the student's actions as a disruption or as attempted cheating, which could affect the student's score  

Computer adaptive testing (CAT) is an assessment model that provides a customized test experience for each student. Each CAT assessment begins with a question of moderate difficulty. A correct response leads to a more difficult question, while an incorrect response leads to a less difficult question. Because question difficulty is tailored to each student's responses, CAT assessments can measure a student's performance with fewer total questions than are needed with a traditional assessment. All students complete the same number of questions for the overall test.

Students cannot skip questions when taking a CAT assessment. They must answer a question before moving to the next question. For most CAT assessments, students are unable to return to earlier questions to review or make changes. In some reading CAT assessments, a group of questions may be connected to a reading passage. Students may navigate back and forth among questions tied to each passage. Once students move to the next passage, they can no longer return to questions from the earlier passage set. 

In Fairfax County Public Schools, CAT is used for a number of assessment types, including:

• Universal screener, reading and mathematics, grades k-6
• Standards of Learning (SOL), reading and mathematics, grades 3-8
• WIDA ACCESS for ELLs 2.0, English language proficiency (English learners only), grades k-12

Teachers and other instructional staff in schools work with students to prepare for CAT and provide opportunities for students to practice this assessment format. 

VDOE first introduced CAT SOL assessments in the 2014-15 school year and has expanded use of this model each year. Continued development of CAT is part of VDOE’s efforts to provide students with the best possible testing experience, based on evidence that CAT increases students' focus and engagement during testing. VDOE offers additional information about use of CAT in state SOL assessments.