The state released school accreditation data showing a slight decline in the number of accredited schools across the state since pre-pandemic.

For the 2022-2023 school year, 1,628 out of 1,830 schools are accredited, or 89%. This is a 3% decrease from 2019-2020, when the Department of Education last calculated school ratings.

All Hampton Roads school systems are accredited. However, the number of conditionally accredited schools has increased. Academic performance in science was a problem area for many schools in the region and state.

The Virginia Beach and York County school systems were again unreservedly sanctioned.

About 50 schools in the region are conditionally accredited this year. More than 30 schools in Hampton Roads have been conditionally accredited for the 2019-2020 school year.

[ In 4 Hampton Roads districts, every school is accredited. But some students continue to lag. ]

The state uses school quality indicators at all grade levels. This includes overall proficiency and growth in literacy, math and science, disparities in performance in English and math among student groups, and absenteeism. High school also considers graduation and dropout rates, college, career, and civic readiness. You can qualify for conditional certification by following the state standards below for any of these metrics.

Accreditation information for each school can be found on the Virginia School Quality Profiles website.

Some school districts, such as Hampton City Schools, Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools, Suffolk Public Schools, and Chesapeake Public Schools, were unqualified prior to the pandemic. Now they are looking at a small number of schools that fell below state standards on certain school quality indicators. Suffolk had four schools.

Portsmouth Public Schools has eight conditionally accredited schools. In 2019-2020 there were five in the division.

Academic performance in science was the most common indicator that schools missed in these districts, even if they were completely below standards. did.

Jon Caggiano, the Hampton school system’s assistant superintendent of curriculum, instruction and assessment, addressed the issue in a video posted to the department’s YouTube channel on Friday, in which department leaders said the department’s leaders will be working on the science curriculum and education over the summer. He said he looked closely at the data.

“We’ve revised the ratings to better coordinate,” Caggiano said. “We have made some curriculum revisions, especially for his 5th grade science…”

He also credited the “rock star teacher” for getting creative with coming up with ways to tackle science student performance.

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As before the pandemic, Norfolk Public Schools and Newport News Public Schools saw the highest number of conditionally accredited schools in the region, at 18 and 15 respectively. In 2019-2020 there were 14 each.

Norfolk Public Schools Chief Academic Officer James Pole said in a press release that falling short of state standards for science was so widespread that if the state did not include scientific achievements in its calculations, the condition He said much of the instruction in the last science assessment was done mostly online, and that “the pacing and delivery of science instruction can prove particularly challenging.” It turned out,” he added.

State Superintendent Gillian Barrow said the slight decline in certification numbers suggests the current system is flawed in tracking learning loss after virtual learning during the pandemic.

“Accreditation is one of the key drivers of state interventions and local efforts to improve student outcomes, and frankly, the school evaluation we are releasing today is a testament to the challenges schools and students face. We are failing to capture the extent of the crisis,” Balow said at a press conference.Release.

In a statement Thursday, Gov. Glenn Youngkin explained the need to change the system, saying that next year’s accreditation data will be “an indication of how all our schools are preparing students to succeed in life.” I would like to show an accurate and easy-to-understand diagram.

“Today’s accreditation does not reflect the devastating learning losses and widening achievement gaps facing Virginia students,” he said in a statement.

Kelsey Kendall, kelsey.kendall@virginiamedia.com