Virginia SOL Scores Explained:
New 2026-27 Cut Scores

For tests taken in the 2025-26 school year (spring 2026), the passing score was still 400 on the 0-600 scale, and 500 was Pass/Advanced. The Board of Education made 2025-26 a preparation year. The new, higher reading and math cut scores start with the 2026-27 school year.

Not on grades 3-8 reading and math tests. In 2026-27 the lowest passing score (the bottom of the temporary Pass/Approaching level) is 408 to 426 depending on grade and subject, and Pass/Proficient starts between 430 and 451. The new cut scores apply only to reading and math tests.

It is a temporary level for the four-year phase-in. A Pass/Approaching score counts as passing, but it is below the new Pass/Proficient bar for the grade. Its lower edge rises each year (2026-27, 2027-28, 2028-29), and the level is removed after 2028-29, when the full new cut scores apply.

Virginia adopted more rigorous math standards in 2023 and English standards in 2024, and new SOL tests aligned to them were given from spring 2025. VDOE says the old cut scores reflected the 2016 math and 2017 English standards. The Board of Education unanimously approved new cut scores in September 2025, aligned with national benchmarks.

It may, even if your child learned just as much. The 2026-27 tests are judged against higher cut scores, so a score that passed at 400 last year can fall below the new passing floor. Compare the level and the score, not just pass or fail, and talk with the teacher.

The passing score in effect at the time of the original test attempt. VDOE's example: a student who scores 380 on the Algebra I end-of-course test in 2025-26 can retake it to earn the 400 passing score that applied then.

Math end-of-course tests (Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II) use the new cut scores from 2026-27. On Algebra I in 2026-27, Pass/Approaching is 413-452, Pass/Proficient starts at 453 and Pass/Advanced at 518. For the end-of-course reading test, students entering grade 9 in fall 2026 use the new cut scores (Pass/Approaching 420-478 in 2026-27, Pass/Proficient from 479), while students in grades 10 and 11 keep the 400 passing score. Verified credits already earned are protected.

In 2025-26, 72% of students passed grades 3-8 reading SOL tests and 69% passed grades 3-8 math, each up 0.4 percentage points from 2024-25. Grade 7 and 8 math pass rates dipped slightly, while more middle schoolers took high school math end-of-course tests instead.

VDOE planned new parent reports from spring 2026 that show your child's score and performance under both the current and the revised cut scores, describe each level in plain language, and highlight strengths and areas for growth.