All Charlottesville City Schools Are Fully Accredited and Meet State Accountability Benchmark

Posted Date: 10/07/26 (03:30 PM)

All Charlottesville City Schools Are Fully Accredited and Meet State Accountability Benchmark of 80 Points

Today the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) announced that all Charlottesville City Schools are fully accredited. The VDOE also announced that all Charlottesville City Schools meet or exceed the state’s accountability benchmark of 80 points. On average, our schools increased these scores by 4-5 points from last year. Sunrise Elementary earned the state’s highest designation, “Distinguished,” for earning more than 90 points.

Even though all our schools are meeting that 80-point benchmark, some have been given a designation that is lower (“Approaching Expectations” rather than “Meeting Expectations.”) This is because current state regulations mandate that a school receive a lower designation if even one group of students is federally identified as needing targeted support (e.g. English language learners, Black students, students with disabilities, and economically disadvantaged students).

"A lot is changing about the way the state measures schools, but our commitment remains the same: To support ALL students to perform at high levels," said Superintendent Dr. Royal A. Gurley. "The division works hand-in-glove with school leaders to ensure a plan is in place with teachers, instructional specialists, and families to support every student."

If you have any concerns about your child, contact your teacher or counselor so the school can work with you and your student to address them and make a plan for their success.

State Indicators for Accreditation & Accountability

A data table showing school names, accreditation status, accountability framework scores for 2025 and 2026, and performance level notes. For this information in Excel sheet form, visit https://www.doe.virginia.gov/teaching-learning-assessment/road-to-readiness-school-performance-and-support-framework-resource-hub/spsf-prior-year-results/fall-2026-statewide-results

Accreditation means that schools provide an essential foundation of high-quality programs for all students. The state’s categories are “Fully accredited,” “Accreditation with Conditions,” and “Accreditation Denied.”
Accountability Framework Score – Virginia developed a new accountability framework with a target of 80 points or higher. Points are assigned based on items ranging from test scores to attendance, and the systems differ at the elementary, middle school, and high school levels. See a chart here to show specific school accountability criteria.
Accountability Performance Level – Generally, the performance level mirrors the framework score (90+=distinguished; 80-89= meets expectations; 65-79=approaching expectations; 65 or less= needs intensive support). However, a school's category will be lowered one level if it has at least one group of students who need targeted support. Identified schools will receive additional support for English language learners, Black students, students with disabilities, and economically disadvantaged students. These schools will also qualify for additional federal grant funding.

Recent and Upcoming Changes from the VDOE That Impact These Measurements

Meeting the state’s benchmarks is complicated by a number of recent or upcoming changes from the VDOE:

Increasing rigor in new English and math standards (appeared in SOL tests in 2025 and 2026)
Decreasing the time that our English language learners have before their scores impact their schools’ overall SOL pass rates from 11 semesters to 3 semesters (2025-26)
Reducing the size of a student “group” that counts toward a school’s accreditation/accountability ratings (2025-26). To reduce fluctuations in small cohorts, formerly a group of 30 students in a racial or demographic group was the standard; now a group of as few as 15 students counts in these ratings. (This change was a major reason the state’s number of schools identified for one or more student groups rose from 430 last year to 676 this year.)
Changing the state’s accreditation and accountability framework (2025-26)
Changing which graduation rate calculations impact accountability (2025-26). The state now uses the four-year Federal graduation rate, which does not take into account accommodations for students with disabilities or the fact that some of our students – particularly recently arrived English language learners – are eligible for and benefit from staying at the high school another year or two.
Including a student’s SOL scores in their final grade (2027-28)
Increasing the passing (or “cut”) scores required for students to pass SOL tests (phased-in implementation to begin this spring 2027)

For More Information

You can find many resources about state accreditation and accountability on the Virginia Department of Education’s website here: School Performance & Support Framework Overview