2026 State Test Score Results Data Series
The 2026 State Test Score Results Data Series is published by the Education Data Center and is designed to provide updates on 2026 state assessment data.
What to expect: Our goal is to provide high-level insights on ELA and math state summative assessment outcomes for students in grades 3-8. We will publish overviews as State Education Agencies (SEAs) publicly release assessment results and/or as we receive aggregate results via public records requests.
For additional information about each state assessment, please see the end of this post. All available 2026 assessment data used for this data series will be published by the EDC in December.
Questions, comments, or suggestions? Let us know at info@eddatacenter.org!
Trends Over Time
Yesterday (Aug 25), Virginia released the 2026 Standards of Learning (SOL) results for students in grades 3-8. The state’s math baseline begins in 2019, and the ELA baseline is 2021, so we unfortunately do not have a true pre-pandemic comparison in ELA. We provide results below back to 2015 for reference only, with the acknowledgment that the tests have changed during this time. Virginia is one of the few states to use only 3 performance levels to report results (though this will be changing).
Virginia’s 2026 ELA and math scores showed small gains for students in grades 3-8 compared to 2025. Across the state’s 131 divisions (districts), proficiency levels ranged from 34.9% to 90.6% in ELA and 22.3% to 91.8% in math - a spread of over 55 points in ELA and nearly 70 points in math.
ELA: 72.2% of students in grades 3-8 reached proficiency in 2026, up from 71.7% in 2025 and reaching its highest level over the past five years (starting at 67.1% in 2021). Alleghany Highlands Public Schools demonstrated the largest ELA gains in the state, rising from 63.4% to 69.1%.
Math: 68.5% of students in grades 3-8 reached proficiency, roughly comparable to 2025 rates but not yet at pre-pandemic proficiency levels. Middlesex County Public Schools had the largest math gains compared to 2025, rising from 66.3% to 76.1%. After the first math test administration in 2019, female students out-performed male students by about 3 percentage points; but now, in 2026, it has flipped: male students now out-perform their female counterparts by 1.2 points.
A note of caution related to the math results: we report results here for Grades 3-8 only, and thus exclude high school assessments / end-of-course exams that accelerated 7th and 8th grade students may be taking.
A press release from the Virginia Department of Education credits some of the academic gains to a variety of factors, including high-dosage tutoring and the Virginia Literacy Act:
“Driven by targeted state investments in high-dosage tutoring, evidence-based reading curricula through the Virginia Literacy Act, and expanded classroom support, proficiency rates have made a sustained comeback toward pre-pandemic benchmarks. This progress has also occurred while Virginia has implemented revised, more rigorous Standards of Learning in math and English. This multi-year upward trajectory highlights the resilience of students and the relentless efforts of educators across the state to bridge instructional gaps and rebuild foundational skill sets.”
The Education Scorecard reports that Virginia is among the top 10 states for academic growth between 2022 and 2025 in ELA (10th of 35 states). The report identified Charlottesville City, Richmond City, Roanoke County, Smyth County Public Schools, and Danville City as “Districts on the Rise” for their strong progress in ELA relative to other similar districts during that time frame.
On our radar for 2027: This is the last year for the SOL with the current cut scores and performance levels. VDOE is phasing in changes to the assessment that will begin as of Spring 2027, including a new performance level (Pass/Approaching) - more details from VDOE can be found here.
Results by Achievement Level
A Closer Look at 2026
State Assessment Background
Assessment Name: Standards of Learning (SOL)
Additional Information:
General SOL assessment resources can be found here: https://www.doe.virginia.gov/teaching-learning-assessment/student-assessment/virginia-sol-assessment-program
SOL results are available from the Virginia Department of Education here (a build-a-table resource is also available): https://www.doe.virginia.gov/data-policy-funding/data-reports/statistics-reports/sol-test-pass-rates-other-results
The VDOE 2026 press release can be found here: https://www.doe.virginia.gov/Home/Components/News/News/555/227
Data presented here are specific to this state’s assessment and are not comparable to assessments administered by other states. For questions, please reach out to info@eddatacenter.org.
Please subscribe or share with a friend or colleague who may be interested in this data!