Virginia’s Standards of Accreditation (SOA) have been revised to highlight schools that are close to meeting the requirements for full accreditation. This “partial accreditation” recognizes progress schools are meeting to meet Virginia’s Standards of Learning (SOL) expectations.

The State Board of Education is scheduled to approve the new criteria on October 22.

▪ Partially Accredited: Approaching Benchmark-Pass Rate– Schools that are not Fully Accredited but that are within a narrow margin of the adjusted SOL pass rates required for full accreditation in one or more subject areas

▪ Partially Accredited: Approaching Benchmark-Graduation and Completion Index – High schools that have attained the adjusted pass rates required for full accreditation and that are within a narrow margin of the Graduation and Completion Index (GCI) required for full accreditation

▪ Partially Accredited: Improving School-Pass Rate – Schools that are not Fully Accredited, and do not qualify for a rating of Partially Accredited: Approaching Benchmark-Pass Rate, but that are making acceptable progress toward full accreditation

▪ Partially Accredited: Improving School-Graduation and Completion Index – High schools that have attained the adjusted pass rates required for full accreditation, and that have improved their GCI by at least one point from the previous year, but that are not within a narrow margin of the GCI required for full accreditation.

▪ Partially Accredited: Warned School-Pass Rate – Schools that are not within a narrow margin of, nor making acceptable progress toward, achieving the adjusted SOL pass rates required for full accreditation

▪ Partially Accredited: Warned School-Graduation and Completion Index – High schools that have achieved the adjusted SOL pass rates required for full accreditation, but that are not within a narrow margin of, nor making acceptable progress toward, achieving the GCI required for full accreditation

▪ Partially Accredited-Reconstituted School – Schools that fail to meet the requirements for full accreditation for four consecutive years and receive permission from the state Board of Education to reconstitute. A reconstituted school reverts to accreditation-denied status if it fails to meet full accreditation requirements within the agreed-upon term, or if it fails to have its annual application for Partially Accredited-Reconstituted School renewed

The proposed criteria can be found on the VDOE website.

Source: VDOE