Chapter 760, Enactment Clause 2 (Regular Session, 2022) directed the 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 (VDOE) and other appropriate stakeholders to revise the Virginia Standards of Learning summative assessments of proficiency that require students to demonstrate that they possess the skills, knowledge, and content necessary for success and to develop a plan for implementation of such revised assessments.

In March of 2023, the Secretary of Education and the VDOE convened the work group comprised of teachers, Board of Education members, leaders, parents, and state level experts to review the current assessment system, analyze national reports on leading innovative state assessments, participate in discussions with national and state assessment leaders in innovative assessment design, and compare Virginia’s rigor of standards and annual assessment framework to high performing states. The work group convened over the course of five months with the outcome resulting in the below recommendations for the future of Virginia’s assessment system. The recommendations are as follows:

1. Clearer and more rigorous standards
2. More rigorous assessment items
3. More, timely, clear, and actionable reporting
4. Improved system coherence
5. Innovative assessment design

The purpose of this report is to provide the yearly updates on the implementation of recommendations from the HB 585 Report as required by the General Assembly.