Open Forum: A homeschooling mother is troubled by SOL (Standards of Learning) results

Set aside the current controversy that currently divides half of the community for a moment and direct your attention to data from the Virginia Department of Education. These numbers are specific to Frederick County:

The 2018-19 pass rate for Standards of Learning (SOL) for all students in Frederick County:

• English and reading: 74%
• Science: 79%
• Mathematics: 79%

There are no SOL test results for 2019-20 available due to the closure of schools and cancellation of state assessments.

The 2020-21 pass rate for SOLs for all students in Frederick County:

• English and reading: 64%
• Science: 52%
• Mathematics: 49%

The 2018-19 SOL assessments also included writing as well as history and social sciences, but 2020-21 did not. I would be interested to know why.

Children have been pushed aside and left behind for two years and are left to pick up the pieces of their education while the adults scream about personal opinions of risk assessment. At the end of the 2021-22 school year, those pass rates will either go up, remain the same, or decline. No matter which side of the masking debate you find yourself on, the reality that large percentages of children aren’t passing basic education assessments such as reading, math and science should concern you on some level.

There is a long list of reasons why I advocate for homeschooling, but I know that is not an option for every family. In the end, my heart breaks for the children caught in the middle who have no say in any of it … and they are the ones who end up suffering the most.

Regardless of students being masked or unmasked, if rates continue to decline and they fail to pass their SOLs, then the adults have failed children in more ways than one.

Sarah Skeith is a resident of Middletown.

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