Va. Schools Aim to Whittle Proficiency Gap

A total of 32 local schools were among 595 statewide directed by education offi­cials to improve in the wake of new benchmarks aimed at reducing proficiency gaps between low- and high-per­forming schools, Virginia Department of Education officials said Wednesday.

The annual measurable objectives, based on per­formance on state stan­dardized tests, replaces the adequate yearly progress targets created by the fed­eral No Child Left Behind Act in 2002.

In June, the state received a waiver from the U.S. De­partment of Education for certain provisions of the federal law. Schools, as part of the mandates, are rated based on their students’ math and reading SOL scores.