Math & reading standards and testing in Virginia
Updated June 2026
Virginia never adopted Common Core, using its own Standards of Learning (SOL). Students in grades 3-8 take SOL assessments, now paired with computer-adaptive Through-Year Growth Assessments in fall and winter.
Does Virginia hold kids back in 3rd grade for reading?
No. Virginia has no 3rd-grade retention gate; the Virginia Literacy Act drives K to 3 screening and intervention, with promotion local.
Standards
Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL)
Virginia sets its own grade-level expectations rather than using Common Core, though the core math and reading skills are similar grade to grade.
The key test
The Virginia state test
SOL + Growth Assessments covers both math and reading in grades 3-8.
Reading the results
Spring.
Pass/Advanced, Pass/Proficient, and Fail (scale 0 to 600; 400 passes).
On grade level means a passing SOL score (400+), at Pass/Proficient or Pass/Advanced on the reading SOL.
What's distinctive about Virginia
Virginia uses its own Standards of Learning (not Common Core), and the Literacy Act mandates science-of-reading K to 3 instruction.
Practice the skills, by grade
Whatever Virginia calls its test, the underlying math and reading skills are grade-level. Practice them directly:
Practice the skills behind the test
Virginia writes its own standards. What a third grader has to do does not change: multiply, find the main idea, read a paragraph and say what it meant. KangarooKiddo drills those skills in daily sessions of a handful of questions that end on their own. You see where your kid actually stands, they earn rewards you set up and approve.
Source: Virginia Department of Education. Verified for the 2025-26 school year; policies can change, so confirm with your school.