Summary
During public comment a parent said she learned from another district’s letter that the state Board of Education is considering higher English/Math SOL cut scores and urged Hampton City Schools to notify families and create remediation plans for potentially affected tenth, eleventh and twelfth graders.
Brenda Marks, a Hampton parent, used the board’s public-comment period to urge the district to notify families about proposed changes to state Standards of Learning (SOL) cut scores and to explain what the district will do if the state implements higher passing thresholds.
Marks said she first learned of a proposed change after receiving a letter issued to Gloucester County families and learning that the state Board of Education had left a public comment period open through Nov. 13. "A decision will be made at their meeting next week, Nov. 13," Marks said, and she said the proposed implementation would treat 2025–26 as a preparation year and consider full implementation the following year. The parent warned that a 17–20% increase in cut scores discussed at state meetings could affect tenth-, eleventh- and twelfth-graders’ ability to graduate under new thresholds.
"My child is one who, even though she's an A/B student and passed all of her SOLs, if they implement it like they're talking about implementing, she will not be allowed to graduate," Marks said. She asked what steps the district plans to take to coach and remediate students so they can meet any new standards that the state Board of Education may adopt.
Superintendent Raymond Haynes did not provide a policy decision during the public comment period; the board did not announce a districtwide notification in the meeting record. The parent requested that the district notify families and clarify remediation and retake plans should the state change cut scores; the board's published materials do not show a board response in the meeting minutes.
