Virginia Studies is the marquee VA-only state test — no other state in the country tests fourth graders on their state's history, and Spring 2026 is the first administration aligned to the new 2023 History & Social Science SOL.
Virginia Studies is unique in American K-12 assessment: no other state administers a fourth-grade state-history SOL. The test covers Virginia from the Indigenous peoples and earliest archaeology (Werowocomoco) through the present day — geography (the five Virginia regions: Coastal Plain/Tidewater, Piedmont, Blue Ridge, Valley and Ridge, Appalachian Plateau), Indigenous Peoples (Algonquian, Siouan, Iroquoian language groups), Colonial Virginia (Jamestown 1607, the House of Burgesses, Africans arriving in 1619), the Revolution (Patrick Henry, Washington, Jefferson, Mason, Yorktown), the Civil War and Reconstruction, 20th-century Virginia (industrial growth, Civil Rights, Massive Resistance), and Modern Virginia. The test is structured around Virginia Studies SOLs labeled VS.1 (skills) through VS.10 (modern Virginia).
The Virginia Board of Education adopted the 2023 History and Social Science Standards on April 20, 2023 after a years-long, contentious process — and Spring 2026 is the very first SOL test administration aligned to these new standards. Major changes include more fully integrated Indigenous and African American history in VS.2-VS.4, two brand-new SOLs, and updated content on Civil Rights and Modern Virginia. Earlier draft versions (Nov 2022) controversially used the term "immigrants" for Native Americans and removed Martin Luther King Jr. and Juneteenth from elementary standards; the final adopted version is a compromise that restored those figures and reframed the Indigenous content. The 2023-24 statewide Virginia Studies pass rate was approximately 65% — the 2024-25 number is folded into the 63% History/Social Science aggregate, the lowest of any SOL subject.
Virginia is the only state in the country with a Grade 4 Virginia Studies state test and a Grade 7 Civics & Economics state test. Both are administered as fixed-form (not adaptive) end-of-course SOL assessments delivered on Pearson's platform. Spring 2026 is the first administration aligned to the 2023 History and Social Science SOL.
SOL uses 4 performance levels on a 0-600 scale: Fail/Below Basic (under 375), Fail/Basic (375-399), Pass/Proficient (400-499), and Pass/Advanced (500-600). Pass/Proficient is the federal 'on grade level' target. New higher cut scores phase in 2026-27 through 2029-30 — Reading proficient cuts move to 444-479 and Math to 430-453 depending on grade.
Most recent stable Virginia Studies-specific pass rate. 2024-25 statewide History/Social Science aggregate was 63% — the lowest of any SOL subject. New 2023-standards results from Spring 2026 will reset the benchmark.
Source: VDOE 2023-24 SOL Results aggregate + Cardinal News, Aug 28, 2025
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Start Full Practice →Virginia Studies covers VS.1 (skills — historical thinking, geographical analysis, economic decision-making, responsible citizenship — assessed across every other category) through VS.10 (modern Virginia). The 2015-standard blueprint distributed ~40 operational items across geography, indigenous peoples, colonial era, Revolution, new nation, Civil War, and modern Virginia. The 2023 standards add explicit Indigenous and African American integration in VS.2-VS.4 plus two new SOLs. First administration under 2023 standards: Spring 2026 — the precise item distribution per reporting category will be published by VDOE following that administration.
| Reporting Category | % of Test | Items | What's Tested |
|---|---|---|---|
| Geography & Virginia's Five Regions (VS.2) | ~18% | ~7 items | Virginia's five regions (Coastal Plain/Tidewater, Piedmont, Blue Ridge, Valley and Ridge, Appalachian Plateau), bordering states, the Chesapeake Bay, the James/York/Potomac/Rappahannock Rivers, the Dismal Swamp. |
| Indigenous Peoples & Colonial Virginia (VS.2-VS.4) | ~22% | ~9 items | Algonquian, Siouan, and Iroquoian language groups; archaeology at Werowocomoco and Jamestown; first permanent English settlement at Jamestown (1607); daily life in colonial Virginia; Africans arriving in 1619; the House of Burgesses. Expanded in 2023 standards. |
| Revolutionary Virginia & New Nation (VS.5-VS.6) | ~18% | ~7 items | Virginia's role in the American Revolution, Patrick Henry, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, George Mason, the Battle of Yorktown, Virginia's role in establishing the United States, the Constitution. |
| Civil War & Reconstruction Virginia (VS.7-VS.8) | ~15% | ~6 items | Virginia's secession, key Virginia battles, the end of slavery, Reconstruction in Virginia, the Freedmen's Bureau, the role of Black Virginians in rebuilding the state. |
| 20th-Century & Modern Virginia (VS.9-VS.10) | ~22% | ~9 items | Industrial and economic growth, the Civil Rights movement, Massive Resistance and school integration, present-day Virginia economy, government structure, demographic and political shifts. |
| Skills (VS.1 — assessed across all categories) | Embedded | — | Historical thinking, geographical analysis, economic decision-making, and responsible citizenship process skills are not a separate category — they are embedded in items across every other reporting category. |
Virginia Studies is the strongest single SEO angle in the entire SOL program because no other state has anything like it. No fourth-grader in Texas, California, New York, or Florida takes a state-history state test. Virginia Studies is administered as a fixed-form end-of-course SOL with ~50 items covering Virginia from the Indigenous peoples through the present day — geography (five regions, four rivers), Colonial Virginia (Jamestown 1607, Africans 1619), the Revolution (Henry, Washington, Jefferson, Yorktown), the Civil War and Reconstruction, 20th-century Virginia (Massive Resistance, Civil Rights), and Modern Virginia. Spring 2026 is the very first administration aligned to the 2023 H/SS SOL adopted April 20, 2023 after a contentious public process. Big changes: Indigenous and African American history more fully integrated in VS.2-VS.4, two new SOLs, and updated Civil Rights content. The 2024-25 statewide History/Social Science pass rate was 63% — the lowest of any SOL subject — so this is also the most-failed test in the program. For families: maps and a kitchen-counter timeline beat flashcards.
Maps matter more than facts. The Virginia Studies SOL leans heavily on map-identification items — five regions, four rivers, the Chesapeake Bay, the Dismal Swamp, key historic sites (Jamestown, Werowocomoco, Yorktown, Richmond). Print a blank Virginia outline map and have your child fill it in from memory once a week. This single habit lifts geography-cluster scores measurably.
Build a Virginia history timeline at home. Big anchors: 1607 (Jamestown), 1619 (Africans arrive + House of Burgesses), 1775-1781 (Revolution + Yorktown), 1861-1865 (Civil War), 1954-1959 (Massive Resistance and Brown v. Board). A handmade timeline on a kitchen-counter strip of paper does more for VS.5-VS.10 than any flashcard set.
Practice timeline-ordering and map-hot-spot items using VDOE's free released items at doe.virginia.gov. These technology-enhanced item types are common on Virginia Studies because so much of the content is geographic and chronological. Thirty minutes of practice on the released items removes the interface friction.
Talk about the 2023 standards changes. Indigenous Peoples content is expanded — your child will see Algonquian, Siouan, and Iroquoian language groups by name, and archaeology at Werowocomoco. African American history is more fully integrated in VS.2-VS.4. The Civil Rights content (Massive Resistance, school integration) is more explicit. If your child's classroom is still teaching from older 2015-standard materials, supplement with the 2023 standards themselves (free at doe.virginia.gov).
Use Virginia field trips when you can. Jamestown Settlement, Yorktown Battlefield, Monticello, Mount Vernon, Pamplin Historical Park, and the Black History Museum in Richmond all directly support Virginia Studies content. Even a half-day visit translates into items remembered three months later. If you can't travel, the museums offer free virtual tours.
Virginia Studies is the Virginia-only fourth-grade SOL test on the history, geography, government, and economics of Virginia from the Indigenous peoples through the present day. It is administered as a fixed-form (not computer-adaptive) end-of-course assessment on Pearson VAAP, with ~40 operational items + ~10 field-test items = ~50 total. No other state in the country has a comparable fourth-grade state-history state test.
Virginia from the earliest archaeology through the present: Virginia's five geographic regions, Indigenous Peoples (Algonquian, Siouan, Iroquoian), Colonial Virginia (Jamestown 1607, Africans 1619, House of Burgesses), the Revolution (Patrick Henry, Washington, Jefferson, Yorktown), the Civil War and Reconstruction, 20th-century Virginia (industrial growth, Civil Rights, Massive Resistance), and Modern Virginia. SOL standards are labeled VS.1 (skills) through VS.10 (modern Virginia).
Approximately 50 items total: ~40 operational items that count toward your child's score plus ~10 field-test items being trialed for future tests. The test is fixed-form (not computer-adaptive), so all fourth-graders at the same school see the same items.
Grade 4. Virginia Studies is a one-year course taught in fourth grade, with the SOL test administered toward the end of the school year. The 2023 H/SS Standards (adopted April 20, 2023) keep Virginia Studies at Grade 4. The course is also taught in some Virginia private schools that elect to mirror SOL standards, but only public-school fourth-graders take the SOL test.
A scaled score of 400 — Pass/Proficient. SOL uses a 0-600 scale with four performance levels. Pass/Proficient (400-499) is the federal 'on grade level' target; Pass/Advanced is 500-600. The 2023-24 Virginia Studies pass rate was approximately 65%; the 2024-25 statewide History/Social Science aggregate was 63%, the lowest of any SOL subject.
Three language groups: Algonquian (the largest group in coastal Virginia at contact — includes the Powhatan Confederacy), Siouan (Piedmont — includes the Monacan and Mannahoac), and Iroquoian (southwestern Virginia — includes the Cherokee and Nottoway). The 2023 H/SS Standards expand Indigenous content in VS.2-VS.4, including archaeology at Werowocomoco (the Powhatan capital, on the York River). The final adopted standards reframed the Indigenous content after public comment on earlier drafts.
Coastal Plain (Tidewater) — east of the Fall Line, including the Chesapeake Bay; Piedmont — rolling hills between the Fall Line and the Blue Ridge; Blue Ridge — the mountains running northeast-southwest; Valley and Ridge — including the Shenandoah Valley; Appalachian Plateau — the smallest, in far southwestern Virginia. Students should be able to identify each region on a map and name characteristic geographic features.
Four major rivers, all flowing east to the Chesapeake Bay: the James (running through Richmond and emptying into Hampton Roads), the York (Werowocomoco and Yorktown sit on it), the Potomac (the northern border with Maryland), and the Rappahannock (between the James and Potomac). Plus the Chesapeake Bay itself and the Dismal Swamp (along the North Carolina border). Map identification items are common.
The 2023 H/SS SOL more fully integrate Indigenous and African American history in VS.2-VS.4, add two brand-new SOLs, and update content on Civil Rights and Modern Virginia. The adoption was contentious: earlier draft versions (Nov 2022) used 'immigrants' for Native Americans and dropped Martin Luther King Jr. and Juneteenth from elementary standards. After public comment, the final adopted version (April 20, 2023) restored those figures and reframed the Indigenous content. Spring 2026 is the first SOL test under these new standards.
Same SOL test, different grades and subjects. Pick the page that matches your child's situation.
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