Henrico witnesses greater decline in SOL scores than statewide average; Henrico students explore different industries at Career Expo
Happy Friday!! I am about to head over to the Citizen’s 22nd anniversary event (for anyone who wants some free cake and drinks) at Final Gravity Brewing Co. Thank you to the 146 readers who made contributions and the thousands of readers who continue to support our coverage — I am so appreciative of all of you.
Henrico’s SOL scores were released earlier this month, with Henrico having lower pass rates in history, reading, and math than the statewide averages. There were significant declines in pass rates from last year for several SOL tests and achievement gaps are still evident for minority and economically disadvantaged students.
Hermitage High held the Life Ready Expo on Sept. 19, which 150 companies attended, and hot-button issues including debates over library books and what to do about AI in schools continue to make the news in Virginia.
Achievement gaps and declines
The standardized test scores of Henrico County Public Schools students lagged behind those of their counterparts statewide in reading, mathematics, and history/social studies, according to data released earlier this month by the Virginia Department of Education.
The VDOE released the results of the 2022-2023 Virginia Standards of Learning tests Sept. 7, showing that statewide scores remained largely stagnant since the previous year. But Henrico County witnessed a greater decline in SOL scores than the statewide average, with the county’s 2022-2023 pass rates in three of the five SOL subject areas below statewide pass rates.
Significantly fewer Henrico public school students passed state assessments in history and social studies during the most recent school year when compared with the previous year, and pass rates also decreased for English assessments.
The most significant difference between division-wide and statewide scores was in history, which 65% of Virginia students passed but only 56% of Henrico students passed. On reading assessment tests, 73% of Virginia students passed, while only 69% of Henrico students passed. And in math assessments, 69% of Virginia students passed while only 65% of Henrico students did so.
From 'construction to cyber security'
Families and students packed the hallways of Hermitage High School to meet with employers from 150 different companies at Henrico School’s Life Ready Career Expo on Sept. 19.
HCPS’ Department of Workforce and Career Development hosted its annual career fair to help sixth- through 12th-grade students, as well as adults and younger students, explore job opportunities and learn more about different industries.
The majority of companies represented technical industries, but other industries such as nursing, education, law enforcement, customer service and media were also represented.
For many employers, the goal was to spotlight parts of their industries that are often overlooked. Dwight VanRossum, the Human Resources Specialist for HCPS, wanted his booth to highlight the many jobs in HCPS that aren’t teaching positions, such as bus drivers, custodial staff, school security officers, and school nurses.
AI challenges loom
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin recently issued an executive directive that emphasized the looming impact of artificial intelligence, though higher education is only beginning to grapple with how to utilize AI.
Youngkin’s order is to ensure AI is used responsibly, ethically and transparently in state government, job creation and education.
A survey released earlier this year found that 60% of college students polled have not been taught how to use AI tools ethically or responsibly by higher education instructors. The same percentage of students also think AI tools will become the new normal, according to the BestColleges survey.
ChatGPT was released to the public less than a year ago. The chatbot uses language models to mimic human writing and dialogue. It can respond to questions and generate various written content, including emails, prompts and articles.
VA confronts book debates
Authors and librarians have felt the pressure of recent book challenges in Virginia, and think the system for book challenges could be better streamlined.
When author Rosiee Thor discovered their book was challenged in a Virginia public library, the news was frustrating.
Their book “Fire Becomes Her” now sits among more than 100 titles that have been challenged in the state, and initially through school libraries. Thor’s book, however, was recently challenged at Samuels Public Library in Warren County. A challenge “is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group,” according to the American Library Association.
Photos of the week
You’re looking at a Henrico firefighter in the making! Many younger students tagged along with their siblings and parents to explore the Henrico Career Expo.
Fall is upon us — I visited a pumpkin patch in Harrisonburg, Virginia and got my own pumpkin to take home.
MORE IN HENRICO
ACE Center at Virginia Randolph to hold fall plant sale
Henrico candidates for State Senate and House will hold meet and greet Oct. 1
Henrico supervisors approve $69.9 million in new spending plans
MORE IN VA
Testimony begins in trial of ex-Loudoun County Superintendent
Virginia mom challenges one school book a week. She’s had dozens removed.
A Richmond program to reduce gun violence has had rare success. Now it’s expanding.
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