The U.S. Department of Education has given Virginia permission to cancel federally mandated Standards of Learning tests in reading, math and science during the 2019-2020 school year.
In a statement, Superintendent of Public Instruction James Lane said that the commonwealth’s waiver application was submitted on Friday after the federal agency informed the Virginia Department of Education that the application did not require prior approval from the state Board of Education.
The federal department granted the Virginia Department of Education approval on Saturday to implement the waiver pending formal approval later this spring.
"I would like to thank USED for how quickly they are granting these waivers so that we can provide certainty for our educators and students," Lane said.
On March 20, in the wake of extended school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced an expedited process for approving statewide waivers of Every Student Succeeds Act testing mandates.
ESSA requires states to administer annual assessments in reading and mathematics in grades 3-8 and at least once in high school. The law also requires testing in science at least once in elementary, middle and high school.
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