Virginia Teaching Educational Standards & Curriculum 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Virginia's Standards of Learning (SOL) assessments are administered to measure student achievement at which levels?
- Only at graduation
- Grades 3–8 and end-of-course in high school (Correct answer)
- Only in high school grades 9–12
- Annually in every grade K–12
Correct answer: Grades 3–8 and end-of-course in high school
Virginia SOL tests are given in grades 3–8 and as end-of-course tests in high school subjects such as English, math, science, and history.
Question 2: When designing a curriculum unit aligned to the Virginia SOLs, a teacher should FIRST:
- Select engaging activities and then find matching standards
- Identify the relevant SOL objectives and then plan instruction backward from those goals (Correct answer)
- Choose a textbook chapter and teach it sequentially
- Administer a post-test to determine student interest
Correct answer: Identify the relevant SOL objectives and then plan instruction backward from those goals
Backward design begins with identifying desired learning outcomes (the SOLs) before selecting instructional strategies and assessments.
Question 3: Which Virginia document outlines the philosophy, content, and instructional guidance for each academic subject area beyond the SOL standards themselves?
- Virginia Department of Education Curriculum Framework (Correct answer)
- Individual Education Program (IEP)
- School Improvement Plan (SIP)
- Federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plan
Correct answer: Virginia Department of Education Curriculum Framework
The VDOE Curriculum Framework expands each SOL objective with essential understandings, knowledge, skills, and teacher notes.
Question 4: A teacher notices that the pacing guide requires finishing a unit two weeks before an SOL test. The BEST use of that remaining time is to:
- Begin the next year's curriculum content
- Conduct targeted review using formative data to address identified gaps (Correct answer)
- Show educational videos unrelated to the SOL
- Give students free study time without teacher guidance
Correct answer: Conduct targeted review using formative data to address identified gaps
Using formative assessment data to guide targeted review is the most evidence-based approach to maximizing student readiness for the SOL.
Question 5: In Virginia, which agency is responsible for adopting the Standards of Learning?
- The local school board
- The Virginia General Assembly
- The Virginia Board of Education (Correct answer)
- The U.S. Department of Education
Correct answer: The Virginia Board of Education
The Virginia Board of Education adopts the Standards of Learning, which serve as the academic content standards for public schools in the Commonwealth.
Question 6: Scope and sequence in curriculum planning refers to:
- The order in which teachers grade assignments
- The breadth of content covered (scope) and the order in which it is taught (sequence) (Correct answer)
- The number of SOL questions on a standardized test
- The ratio of formative to summative assessments in a course
Correct answer: The breadth of content covered (scope) and the order in which it is taught (sequence)
Scope defines what content is covered, while sequence defines the logical order in which topics are introduced across grade levels.
Question 7: A Virginia high school student who fails an end-of-course SOL test may earn verified credit by:
- Completing an online course from any provider
- Retaking the SOL test and passing, or meeting alternative criteria approved by VDOE (Correct answer)
- Having a parent sign a waiver form
- Passing a locally created alternative assessment without VDOE approval
Correct answer: Retaking the SOL test and passing, or meeting alternative criteria approved by VDOE
Verified credit in Virginia requires passing an approved state assessment or meeting VDOE-sanctioned alternative means such as collection-of-evidence.
Virginia Teaching Educational Standards & Curriculum 2
Virginia's Standards of Learning (SOL) assessments are administered to measure student achievement at which levels?