RICHMOND, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Governor Youngkin is celebrating an uptick in 2024-25 academic year Standards of Learning scores in reading and math even as the state made the exams more difficult, though local scores are more mixed.

“We made the tests harder and, yet the students’ performance improved. Let me say that again: we made the tests harder and, yet the students’ performance improved”, Governor Youngkin said in a press conference.

The Governor concentrated on reading and math, though tests statewide were administered in writing, history and social sciences, and science as well. The state percentage of students passing the reading SOL was 74 compared with 73 the year before. In math, the state percentage passed was 72 compared to 71. However, the Governor said “this year’s tests required students to demonstrate their ability to retain and apply knowledge of 30 to 40 percent more content in order to pass compared to last year’s test”.

In Albemarle, the reading passing rate was slightly higher than the statewide average with 75%, which is the same as the year before. Math was 74% compared to 72 last year. Both of Albemarle County’s scores were slightly above state average.

In Charlottesville, the passing rate was below state average at 67% for reading, up from 65% the previous year, and match was 67%. While math was well below state average, Charlottesville jumped up 4% from the year before.

Both Charlottesville and Albemarle continued to show significant achievement gaps between black and white students, and more so than the state average.

The state saw 83% of white students passing the reading SOLs compared to black students at 62%. Black students had a 2% uptick from the year before and white students up one. In math, 82% of white students passed, up 1% from the previous year, while black student passage went up to 58% from 57 the year before. The state achievement gap was 21% in reading, and 25% for math.

For Charlottesville, 90% of white students passed the reading SOLs compared to 42% of black students. The white student percentage was up one from the year before, and black students were up two. In math, white students jumped up 4% from the year before to 89% last year, while black students rose 3% from the year before to 41% passing last year. Those are both gaps of 48%.

In Albemarle County, 88% of white students passed the reading SOLs compared to 86% the year before, while the percentage of black students passing fell from 50% in 2023-24 to 47% last year. The math passing percentage for black students, though, rose 3% to 47% last year. 86% of white students passed, up also 3% from the year before. The gaps are 41% in reading, and 39% for math.

Overall, writing and history scores dropped 3- and 1-percent respectively in Albemarle County to 75- and- 72%. Science was up 2% to 70.

Charlottesville did not score writing SOLs, but had a 2% drop in history to 59%, and 4% drop in science to 58%. There are also significant achievement gaps in those subjects.

Click here for all the state education department’s SOL data.