Is it possible for me to petition my child's school

[Anonymous]

Is it possible for me to petition my child's school to allow them to retake an SOL even though they missed the retake cutoff by two points?

My middle schooler is devastated. They're an A math student.

[Anonymous]

You can petition anyone for anything you want. It won’t be effective though. The cut off score is set by the state, not the school.

Look into the reasons why he failed if an A student didn’t make the cut off score. Either grades are inflated, something happened during the test where he couldn’t focus or he just had a really bad day. Move on and don’t dwell on it if he was sick to his stomach or something. Tell him the score isn’t reflective of his ability. If it’s grade inflation, you have other issues.

[Anonymous]

Do SOLs count for anything for an individual student - new to area and just curious if it matters?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do SOLs count for anything for an individual student - new to area and just curious if it matters?

in high school they need to pass some in order to graduate, and some students will not be able to take honor classes if they don't do well in the SOL.

[Anonymous]

So OP, he failed the SOL or just didn't get Pass Advanced?

[Anonymous]

I never showed my kids their SOL scores in elementary or middle school. They shouldn’t let their confidence be connected to one standardized test.

[Anonymous]

Why? It doesn’t go on their transcript. What’s the point?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can petition anyone for anything you want. It won’t be effective though. The cut off score is set by the state, not the school.

Look into the reasons why he failed if an A student didn’t make the cut off score. Either grades are inflated, something happened during the test where he couldn’t focus or he just had a really bad day. Move on and don’t dwell on it if he was sick to his stomach or something. Tell him the score isn’t reflective of his ability. If it’s grade inflation, you have other issues.

Middle school math grades are definitely inflated. My kid made an A but never got an A on a test.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So OP, he failed the SOL or just didn't get Pass Advanced?

Raw score of 373……..his used to retakes because he’s allowed to retakes test when he doesn’t get above 80%..

[Anonymous]

So you’re saying he’s an A student but failed the math SOL? Which math was he in this year?

[Anonymous]

Sounds like this is an opportunity for you to teach your middle schooler how to deal with failure in a low-stakes way--the test means nothing. Don't be a helicopter parent and push the school.

Instead, address the real problem, which is that your kid didn't know some of the concepts. Sign your kid up for some summer math help to reinforce whatever skills they are lacking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like this is an opportunity for you to teach your middle schooler how to deal with failure in a low-stakes way--the test means nothing. Don't be a helicopter parent and push the school.

Instead, address the real problem, which is that your kid didn't know some of the concepts. Sign your kid up for some summer math help to reinforce whatever skills they are lacking.

This. And start looking for a tutor now before kids disperse, even if your kid doesn't start getting tutored right away.

There is free tutoring available from high school volunteers, at least in APS.

[Anonymous]

OP, there is no way a good/decent math student could fail a math SOL. SOLs measure the minimum proficiency. They are designed for students to pass them. Passing SOLs means scoring 400 out of 600, about 67%. You should expect your A student to score at least 500, or close to 600. I've seen many student finish the test within 20 minutes with a perfect score.

Middle school and elementary school grades cannot be trusted, are you new to this forum? This has been discussed many times here.

[Anonymous]

How do you know his SOL score already? I thought those were sent out to parents in late summer?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How do you know his SOL score already? I thought those were sent out to parents in late summer?

Not in HS and MS. Students and parents are told within days and the official letter is mailed in the summer.