Standards of Learning
News & Announcements
Review of the 2018 Science Standards of Learning
At its February 2, 2023, meeting, the State Board of Education (Board) authorized the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) to proceed with the development and review process of the 2018 Science Standards of Learning. Please note that the timeline reviewed by the Board has changed.
The Proposed Draft 2025 Science Standards of Learning will be presented to the Board of Education for initial review in early spring 2025. The 2025 Science Standards of Learning are for the current Board-approved high school science courses that do not have existing standards (High School Level II courses and Environmental Science). Once adopted by the Board, divisions are expected to implement the science standards in the 2025-2026 academic year. The 2018 Science Standards of Learning for kindergarten through high school physics will remain unchanged in content and practices. Instructional guides, scheduled to be released in May 2025, will include structures to increase specificity and provide clarity about performance expectations of the Standards.
Science Standards of Learning – Adopted 2018
Implementation & Timeline
- Full implementation of the 2018 Science Standards of Learning during the 2022-2023 academic year. State testing of the 2018 Science Standards of Learning starts in spring 2023
- Superintendent's Memo 131-20 (Word) - Implementation timeline for the 2018 Science Standards of Learning and the 2018 Science Standards of Learning Curriculum Framework
- Science Standards of Learning Crosswalk between 2018 and 2010 Standards (Word)
| Course |
Standards of Learning |
Curriculum |
Test Blueprints |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Science |
N/A |
||
| Kindergarten |
N/A |
||
| Grade 1 |
N/A |
||
| Grade 2 |
N/A |
||
| Grade 3 |
N/A |
||
| Grade 4 |
N/A |
||
| Grade 5 |
Grade 5 (includes Grade 4 and Grade 5) |
||
| Grade 6 |
N/A |
||
| Life Science |
N/A |
||
| Physical Science |
Grade 8 (includes Grade 6, Life Science, and Physical Science) |
||
| Biology |
Biology |
||
| Chemistry |
Chemistry (2010)
|
||
| Earth Science |
Earth Science (2010)
|
||
| Physics |
N/A |
Science Standards of Learning – Adopted 2010
The 2018 Science Standards of Learning Curriculum Framework comprise the science content that teachers in Virginia are expected to teach and students are expected to learn.
Testing of the 2010 Science Standards of Learning will end after the fall 2022 administration of the Standards of Learning assessments.
| Course |
Standards of Learning |
Curriculum |
Blueprints |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Science | Contact the VDOE Science Team for 2010 Curriculum Frameworks |
Grade 5 (includes Grade 4 and Grade 5) Grade 8 (includes Grade 6, Life Science, and Physical Science) |