Due to a recent change for AP World History students, studying for Virginia’s Standards of Learning tests right after AP exams might not be necessary in the future.
Director of K-12 Curriculum and Instruction for FCPS Instructional Services, Ms. Frances Ivey, recently decided that AP World History students will not be required to take the World History SOL as long as they score a two on their AP examination.
“I appreciate that they are letting us try this, and I hope to expand more in the future,” said Langley’s assessment coach Ms. Jan Dabrowski, who started the campaign for removing the SOLs from select AP courses.
There is now a movement for removing the SOLs from two other AP courses: English Language and Composition and U.S. History. However, AP students are only exempt from SOLs that correspond to a regular class that is required to take the test.
“I’m glad we don’t have to take the SOL, students shouldn’t have to worry about another big test because the AP test is strenuous enough,” said sophomore Teresa Nguyen, who is currently enrolled in AP World History.
If expanded, this new policy will only apply to sophomore and junior classes since seniors get their AP scores in the summer, which is too late to retake the SOL if they did not pass the AP exam.
This process started with an examination of Langley’s statistics and scores on previous AP exams. Other than Langley, Thomas Jefferson is the only other high school in Fairfax County that is exempt from the AP World History SOL this spring. Similarly, its students are also being considered for further exemption in other AP courses.
The main reason that this change was enacted for AP World is because of the curriculum. AP World History focuses on regions from all over the globe; conversely, the SOL covers mostly European history. In the past, AP students had to learn about this additional European material after their AP test in only a few weeks before the SOL.
“I’m glad that we don’t have to drive the kids from an AP preparation to an SOL preparation, because they are two different tests,” said World History teacher Ms. Brigitte Lavey.