By Sukainah Abid-Kons, contributor
In early 2025, students, teachers, and administrators were informed of a big change: the amount of time English-learning students (ELs) would have to reach proficiency would be cut dramatically. While English learners previously had up to 11 semesters to learn English before their performance in Virginia’s Standards of Learning tests began to count, they would now have three semesters.
For a district with a typical amount of English learners, this would be challenging. For Harrisonburg, where approximately 45% of students are identified as English learners, whereas the state-wide average is around 15%.
“It’s a big deal for our school division,” said Superintendent Michael Richards.
The Citizen reached out to the Virginia Department of Education for comment about the reasoning for the change but didn’t receive any responses.
School leaders discussed the effects of the change during the Dec. 16 school board meeting. During that discussion, officials mentioned that the change in Virginia standards aligns more with federal standards, which are more stringent than the previous 11 semesters allowed by the state.
Joy Blosser, the district’s chief academic officer, also reported on SOL test scores at that work session. While the average scores were below the state benchmark, last year’s SOL results from Harrisonburg were an improvement on previous years and helped toward closing that gap.
“We were celebrating this,” Richards said. “The fact that, despite this, our scores still have improved. But imagine if they had not made this change… they robbed us of some pretty significant improvement.”
Both Blosser and Richards grant full credit for these score improvements to the teachers in Harrisonburg.
“That goes back to the work of our teachers and our administrators,” Blosser said. “We’ve had a huge focus for many years on how to best support our English learners.”
Blosser said the curriculum used to support English learners also benefits other students. Many teachers received training on how to support English learners in the classroom, part of which encourages more verbal communication about topics learned in class. However, many people find that talking about what they’ve learned helps them internalize the information more effectively, meaning this method can be beneficial for English native-speakers and learners alike.
While some linguistic studies have suggested that it may only take students three semesters to acquire conversational English, Richards said the difference between conversational English and the English needed to pass an SOL exam are drastically different.
“They have to take a high-stakes test in English […] in reading, math, and science, after only three semesters of English language acquisition,” he said.
Young learners are also quicker to pick up languages than adults, but even minds like sponges can take years to achieve true academic proficiency.
“With academic proficiency, even the little kids take 5-7 years to get it,” explained Richards.
However, with a new gubernatorial administration in office, both Blosser and Richards said they hope Virginia will consider changing the guidelines back to once again give English Learners more time to master the language.
Virginia’s Joint Legislative Audit & Review Commission (JLARC) – a nonpartisan educational advisory committee – has raised concerns about the new accountability standards.
In the meantime, Harrisonburg school district leaders are seeking to advocate for fair expectations for their students. Richards said he’s already emailed Virginia General Assembly members about these changes to explain how they affect both students and their districts as a whole.
“Will there be change?” Richards said. “Well, I hope so.”
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