Yes; believe it or not, Virginia’s Standards of Learning tests (SOL) tests, the dreaded bane of a student’s existence, are here.

As time draws closer, students begin to complain about the absurdity of the standardized tests. However, SOLs on the contrary, are quite beneficial to the students and Virginia as a whole.

You might ask, “What? Why would sitting and taking a standardized test be beneficial?”

In fact, SOLs are forged in order to make sure that all students are learning the same material. Before the SOLs, there was no way to make sure that teachers were completing the standards set for them by the state, and so by creating these tests, students are assessed for what they have learned in the year from their teachers.

Moreover, for that reason, the SOLs can serve as an indicator of whether the teacher is well-qualified or not, benefiting students in that way.

Besides keeping unqualified teachers away from the public school system, SOLs also make sure that the superb teachers currently teaching students stay on track. Many adults, like students here at AHS will when triggered go off in conversation about a subject near and dear to them.

So, the standards set for the teachers make sure that teachers are passing on material that is vital to the subject, instead of the “juicy stuff” that may lead students into learning too much extra information.

For some students, SOLs are a great way to review material learned in the year.

Nobody enjoys completing Jlabs, freshman  Clare Lazar puts it: “They are good because they reinforce everything that we have learned in a year.”

SOLs enable education officials to measure what students have learned, and even what should be put into the Program of Study (POS) in the upcoming year.

For example, if a number of students have problems on a certain part of the test, officials will fix that by either making requirements easier, or changing the requirements all together.

Teachers also agree that the SOLs are helpful in catalyzing students to be on the same page.

“It is important that everyone has learned at least the same level of material,” Said biology teacher, Elizabeth Edwards.

In an ever-expanding field of knowledge, it is important that all students foster at least a basic idea for the subject being taught.
For students in rigorous classes, the SOLs may be an easy test.

In a world that has become synonymous for high achievers, SOLs are a way to make sure that the state population as a whole is not only making progress, but understanding the material imparted to them.

Besides, what happens after SOLs? Teachers tend to assign less homework, and since they are less stressed, the students, are less stressed too. SOLs really are not as menacing as they seem; they were created for the good of the state, and continue to serve to that capacity.