Winchester teachers, parents urge board to oppose proposed SOL cut-score increases

WINCHESTER, Va. — Teachers, parents and students told the Winchester School Board on Tuesday they are deeply concerned about proposed increases to the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) cut scores, arguing the change would lower graduation rates and disproportionately affect students with disabilities and multilingual learners.

More than a half-dozen speakers during the meeting’s public-comment period urged the board to advocate in Richmond, seek full impact data and press the Virginia Department of Education for phased implementation and additional supports.

“Eliminating the ladder while telling them to keep climbing — the ones left behind will be our students,” Leslie Cornwell, co-chair of the English department at John Handley High School, told the board. Cornwell and co-presenter Clarissa Kennerly laid out school-by-school projections showing steep declines in pass rates for subgroups under the proposed cut score of 479, compared with the current passing score of 400.

Chip Newcomb, an English teacher at Handley who also serves on Winchester’s City Council, said the proposed new cut — a roughly 19.75% increase — was “an enormous jump” and warned it would “decimate” the public school system’s ability to graduate students unless the state phases in changes and provides clear supports.

Susan Brathwaite, who identified her address for the record, urged the board to demand transparency from the state and cited the administrative rule the state uses for graduation requirements, noting, “The requirements for a student to earn a diploma and graduate from a Virginia high school shall be those in effect when the student enters the ninth grade for the first time.” She asked the board to seek data on the proposals’ effects by subgroup and region and to advocate publicly on students’ behalf.

Speakers also raised workforce implications. Brathwaite said teacher retention is already strained statewide and argued that “adding tougher cut scores on top of this climate will accelerate burnout and turnover.” Melissa, principal at Frederick Douglass Elementary (who spoke with other staff present), asked the board what specific resources the state expects schools to deliver if expectations rise, saying, “We don’t need generalized suggestions. We need specific resources and strategies that our teachers can use on a daily basis.”

Board members acknowledged the concern and several said they would consider requests for the district to take formal steps to oppose or press for change at the state level. No formal board vote on a resolution opposing the state cut-score proposal was recorded during the meeting.

Why it matters: Speakers presented local projections showing pass-rate collapses for some subgroups if the higher cut scores were applied to last year’s results; they urged the board to use its platform to press for more data, stakeholder engagement and phased implementation so students and schools can adjust.

What happened at the meeting: The matter arose during the public-comment portion; the board received the comments and heard multiple teachers and department leaders present local data and plea for advocacy. The board made no formal action on the state proposal that night.

What’s next: Speakers asked the board to send a formal resolution to the Virginia Department of Education, coordinate with other districts and publicly advocate for phased timelines and support. The state board of education was scheduled to meet Sept. 25, and several speakers asked the Winchester board to submit testimony before then.

Sources: Public comments at the Winchester Public Schools Board of Education meeting, Sept. (public-comment segment).