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House Bill 585 Work Group

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House Bill 585 was passed by the 2022 Virginia General Assembly and directed the Virginia Secretary of Education and the Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction to convene and consult a work group consisting of representatives of the Virginia Department of Education and appropriate stakeholders to recommend changes to the statewide summative assessments and develop a plan for implementation of the revised assessments.

Below are the final work group report, the charge of the work group, and the work group meetings and materials. 

Work Group Final Report

In October 2023, the HB 585 released their recommendations to update the Standards of Learning assessments. The report can be accessed here: 
Revisions to the Virginia Standards of Learning Summative Assessments of Proficiency: Recommendations from the HB 585 Work Group Convened by the Secretary of Education and Superintendent of Public Instruction

Work Group Focus

The work group shall consider:

  • Best practices and innovations in summative assessments of proficiency from across the nation;
  • Alternative approaches to current and new assessment items, including subject areas and methods of grading such items;
  • Assessment items that include open-ended questions, long-form writing, and other tasks, with student responses scored by the Department according to statewide scoring rubrics;
  • Plan for pilot implementation of such assessment items prior to the 2027-2028 school year as necessary to determine the validity of such items;
  • The process for the development of a bank of vetted sample assessment items that include a comprehensive representation of knowledge and skills being assessed;
  • The legislative and regulatory changes and funding necessary to implement alternative approaches considered by the work group;
  • The effectiveness of assessments for students with disabilities, including the Virginia Alternate Assessment Program for those students with the most significant cognitive disabilities, and the use of those assessments to improve and individualize instruction; and
  • A proposed timeline for implementation of such new assessments, giving consideration to implementation prior to the 2027-2028 school year.

Work Group Meetings and Materials

Meeting 1: March 30, 2023

Meeting 2: April 27, 2023

Meeting 3: May 25, 2023

Meeting 4: July 27, 2023

Meeting 5: September 8, 2023