Richmond Times-Dispatch Thursday, May 21, 2026
OPINIONS
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
SOL testing still vexes Virginia
Twenty years ago, I retired from public education, and yet Virginia’s Standards of Learning Tests (SOLs) have not retired from making front page headlines. The May 10 edition of the Times-Dispatch confirms this with Anna Bryson’s article, “Students will face tougher tests in 2027.”
In 1998, when the testing was initiated, we thought the tests were tough. I was serving as principal at Lakeside Elementary School in Henrico County. Our first-year results were dismal.
From that point on, a relentless pressure was always present to improve and earn accreditation.
Now, I read that the tests will be tougher. I have no problem with toughness. And yes, I think it is wise to push back the testing dates to allow for more instructional time. However, in all this jabbering about the SOLs, how often do our school and community leaders consider the factors that can limit student success?
In the 28 years since the Standards of Learning Tests were implemented, how has the Commonwealth of Virginia scored in combatting critical factors that impact student performance?
Have our governors and legislators made any progress countering malignant generational cycles related to poverty, homelessness, substandard housing, unemployment, family instability and access to mental and physical health care?
Every day in classrooms across Virginia, teachers struggle to meet the needs of these students who are trapped in these brutal cycles. If we want better results on tougher tests, then we must address those challenges.
Margot Lee Shetterly, author of “Hidden Figures,” makes this point: “You don’t get the good without the bad, but you really do have to see it all in order to make progress.”
Until we address the “all” of the generational cycles that derail student learning, we will continue to struggle with SOL testing.
Bill Pike
Tuckahoe
From the author: Honored to have a Letter To The Editor published in the May 21, 2026 edition of the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
might be baloney 