Virginia State Standards for English (SOL's)

Although teachers use the NCTE's published National standards as guideposts, the Department of Education of the state of Virginia independently publishes and implements a unique set of expectations called the Standard's of Learning (SOL's) to further clarify the objectives, themes, and skills that are to be taught in Virginia's classrooms. Unlike the relatively brief set of National Standards previously discussed, the SOL's establish individualized expectations for learners for every stage of public school from kindergarden through a student's senior year of high school. Although fresh and more challenging goals are presented as the student progresses from one grade to the next, the standards for each grade incorporate some similar themes and objectives.

The state of Virginia encourages students, parents, teachers, and all interested parties to familiarize themselves with the Standards of Learning, which are available for download in a variety of formats here.

The SOL's are structured in a succinct and intuitive manner. The overall expectations, goals, themes, and major areas of focus for each grade level are explained in an introductory paragraph that summarizes the respective grade's outlook. The individual standards for each grade are divided by themes and concepts. The English Standard of Learning labeled as "9.1" - the first standard for secondary schools - falls under the heading of "oral language," and is accompanied by a variety of other expectations. Other larger themes within the standards include "reading analysis," "writing," and "research." As the standards guide a student towards forward to graduation, their individual requirements build on the previously mastered challenges and grow in complexity and breadth. For some subjects, such as English and the related arts, the following individual standards are comprised of a number representing the grade level (9 representing a freshman in high school), a period, and a secondary number which represents the individual standard. For instance, the first standard for a freshman English course would appear as "9.1." Lastly, detailed statements are provided for each combination of numbers that describe specific skills and concepts that should be mastered by the student. The Standards emphasize research and communication skills, group work, mass media messages, presentation skills, informational sources, persuasive writing, poetry and creative writing analysis, and many other topics that will help the student in post-secondary school life.

Although the NCTE Standards for English and the Language Arts total only 12 individual standards, they are generally broader guideposts that refrain from over-specifying the expectations of the council. The Standards of Learning, however, are comprised of more detailed expectations that are written in a more exact manner. The Standards of Learning actually state that a "student will be able to" complete a certain task, demonstrate a skill, or master a concept. However, it is important to note several factors: no specific texts are forced upon teachers to use and the Standards retain a high potential for instructors to integrate a wide variety of multi-media sources, such as films, into their classrooms.

While the NCTE's contributions to the ongoing discussion of expectations and challenges seems brief when compared to the lengthy and highly detailed Virginia Standards of Learning, each collaboration leaves significant potential for a high level of differentiation and uniqueness among Virginia classrooms.