Federal Identification Status
Four Warren County schools have been identified as in need of academic support by the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE). In late February, the VDOE announced the schools from across the state that were federally identified based on Virginia's federal school accountability system under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The four schools and the student groups for which they were identified as not meeting the federal accountability requirements are:
- E. Wilson Morrison Elementary - students with disabilities and white students
- Leslie Fox Keyser Elementary - white students
- Skyline Middle School - students with disabilities
- Warren County Middle School - multiracial students and students with disabilities
The federal identification status is determined by the Standards of Learning (SOL) test results for reading and math, chronic absenteeism rates, and state accreditation status. This year's federal identification status is based on testing data from the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 school years. Federal accountability and state accreditation are determined using similar data sets; however, the two determinations are calculated differently. Therefore, it is possible for a school to be accredited by the state, but federally identified for academic support and improvement. This is the case for both LFK and WCMS. EWM is accredited with conditions by the state due to the chronic absenteeism rate. SMS's state status is accredited with conditions based on SOL test results for science and English and the chronic absenteeism rate.
This is the fourth year that SMS has been federally identified for not meeting the reading and math growth targets for students with disabilities. This is the first year of federal identification for EWM, LFK, and WCMS. The 2023-2024 school year is the first year new schools have been identified since federal accountability was waived due to the Covid pandemic