Standards of Accreditation (SOL)

HCPS SOL pdf

The Virginia Department of Education awards school accreditation ratings based on the percentage of students who pass the Standards of Learning Assessments and other substitute tests.  Ratings reflect performance on tests taken during the previous school year or may represent a three-year average.  The results of tests administered in each subject area are combined to create overall passing percentages in language arts, mathematics, history/social science, and science. 

Schools are awarded one of four accreditation ratings – Full Accreditation, Accredited with Warning, Accreditation Denied, or Conditional Accreditation.  To receive full accreditation, schools must meet or exceed the following benchmarks in each content area:

Schools that do not meet the benchmarks for each content area receive an Accredited with Warning rating in the area where performance is below the target.  These schools participate in an academic review process, create and implement school improvement plans, and are required to adopt research-based instructional programs to raise achievement in the warned content areas.

If a school fails to meet the accreditation benchmarks for four consecutive years, accreditation is denied and the school is subject to corrective actions.

Conditional Accreditation is awarded to new schools for one year prior to the school participating in the state assessments. 

For the 2010-11 school year based on assessment data from 2009-10, 98.5% of Henrico County Public Schools are fully or conditionally accredited. 

Accreditation ratings for all public schools in Virginia, including Henrico, are reported on the Virginia Department of Education website.

New Standards of Accreditation for the 2011-12 School Year
Beginning with the accreditation ratings for the 2011-12 school year based on data from the 2010-11 school year, a Graduation and Completion Index will be also be used in the calculation of accreditation.  High schools will be required to earn 85 points on the graduation and completion index, in addition to meeting the accreditation benchmarks in each content area, in order to be fully accredited. There is a five-year phase-in period, where schools may be rated Provisionally Accredited.  This rating will be awarded if a high school achieves the minimum benchmarks for Standards of Learning tests scores but does not meet a minimum threshold for the graduation rate but meets prescribed benchmarks outlined in the regulations.

Provisional accreditation ratings for high schools (based upon graduation index)

Last Update: November 10, 2011