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Mason District Community,
It’s important for the community to be made aware of changes being proposed by the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) to current SOL Cut Scores and the impact to our students. These revisions are expected to be implemented in the 2025-26 school year. Several factors of concern arise with this plan – from the rushed mid-year implementation to the inconsistency of the threshold scores across grade levels and content areas.
Additional details are below including the opportunity to share your feedback with the VDOE.
This newsletter also details the most recent developments of the boundary process for Mason District schools. The October Community Boundary Review meetings have been completed for the Annandale, Falls Church, and Justice pyramids. Scenario 4 introduces updated maps in the Boundary Explorer Tool and an analysis of pyramid-specific changes was presented for each pyramid community.
Changes recommended in Scenario 4 for each pyramid are provided below. Please share your feedback with your pyramid BRAC representatives and through the comment feature in the Boundary Explorer Tool by November 14, 2025.
SOL Cut Scores
Cut scores define the minimum points students must achieve to reach certain performance levels on an assessment. The Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) assessments utilizes cut scores to place students into a variety of performance levels. At current, a score of 400 is considered proficient, a score of 500 is considered advanced and a score of 600 is a perfect score.
The new VDOE Cut Scores vary by grade and subject and will be much more difficult for students and families to track.
How will these changes impact students?
Below is a modeling illustrating the impact of the new cut scores to the Spring 2025 results.
The impact to students in our school division will be significant as shown by the models above. Please provide your feedback to the VDOE.
FCPS staff also submitted comments to VDOE to consider and several of the suggestions are listed below.
- Delay implementation until SY 2026-2027;
- Maintain current cut scores for students who entered 9th grade for the first time in SY 2025-2026 and prior;
- Count “Approaching” scores as “pass/proficient” for purposes of awarding verified credit and annual pass rate/accountability calculations;
- Maintain the existing 375 score threshold (or equivalent on the 100-point scale) for locally awarded verified credit and retake eligibility; and
- Map the revised cut scores to the 100-point scale that will be applied to all SOL tests beginning in SY 2026-27.
Boundary Updates - Scenario 4
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Annandale Pyramid |
October 21, 2025 Presentation
There are no changes proposed for elementary schools in the Annandale Pyramid in Scenario 4. Proposed changes address capacity and eliminate the Holmes MS split feeder.
Two changes are proposed for Holmes MS:
- Reassign an estimated 14 students from Holmes to Glasgow
- Reassign an estimated 45 students from Holmes to Poe
Two changes are proposed for Poe MS:
- Reassign an estimated 27 students from Glasgow to Poe
- Reassign an estimated 45 students from Holmes to Poe
Two changes are proposed for Annandale HS:
- Reassign an estimated 30 students from Annandale to Justice
- Reassign an estimated 344 students from Edison to Annandale
BRAC Representatives:
Lucas Castanos Jr.
Jacque Mosely
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Falls Church Pyramid |
October 16, 2025 Presentation
There are no changes proposed for most schools in the Falls Church Pyramid in Scenario 4. The exception is an effort to eliminate the Mason Crest split feeder. Under this scenario, all Mason Crest students would matriculate to Poe MS/Falls Church HS. This translates to the reassignment of an estimated 46 students from Justice HS to Falls Church HS.
BRAC Representatives:
Lorena Katsantonis
Charla Ouertatani
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Justice Pyramid |
October 21, 2025 Presentation
There are no changes proposed for elementary schools in the Justice Pyramid in Scenario 4. The proposed changes presented in Scenario 4 are to address split feeders:
Two changes are proposed for Glasgow MS:
- Reassign an estimated 14 students from Holmes to Glasgow
- Reassign an estimated 27 students from Glasgow to Poe
Two changes are proposed for Justice HS:
- Reassign an estimated 30 students from Annandale to Justice
- Reassign an estimated 46 students from Justice to Falls Church
I am extremely concerned that adjustments for Glasgow MS and Parklawn ES that were to be wrapped into the comprehensive boundary review, as approved by the Board, have not been presented.
The overcrowding at Parklawn ES did not appear in the development of the scenarios as the utilization numbers provided did not account for the nearly 30 modulars at the school. As of today, the utilization numbers without modulars are still missing from the Boundary Explorer Tool.
I have expressed my concerns to Thru Consulting and to Dr. Reid and shared that without a scenario that includes relief for these two schools, I will be unable to vote affirmatively in January for this work.
BRAC Representatives:
Bruce Allison
Ann-Marie Ward
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Other Mason Schools |
Upcoming meetings for Edison and Woodson pyramids:
- Friday, October 24 at Lewis High School (Edison and Lewis pyramids)
- Tuesday, October 28 at Fairfax High School (Woodson and Fairfax pyramids)
Registration forms and virtual links are available on the Boundary Review Meeting webpage.
Presentation slides will be uploaded to the Phase 2 Community Boundary Review Meetings website following each meeting.
Boundary Next Steps
- The comment feature in the Boundary Explorer Tool will remain open through November 14, 2025.
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November - The Boundary Review Advisory Committee (BRAC) will review feedback from the community and make recommendations to the Superintendent.
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December/January - The Superintendent will recommend boundary changes to the School Board.
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January - The School Board will hold a public hearing to receive comments on the recommended changes to school boundaries.
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January - The School Board will vote on the recommended changes for implementation in the 2026-2027 school year.
Note: This newsletter contains links to translated versions of the content for your convenience. These translations are generated by Google Translate and are not intended to be a substitute for professional translation services.
The views contained within this newsletter reflect the views of the individual school board member who is the publisher of this newsletter and may not reflect the views of the Fairfax County School Board.
© Fairfax County Public Schools, Fairfax County, Virginia
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