Profile of a Virginia Graduate
The Board of Education has heard from students, families and educators that earning a diploma should be about more than passing a prescribed series of courses and tests. The board also has heard from higher education, businesses and the military that graduates need skills and attributes such as critical thinking, creative thinking, communication, collaboration and citizenship, to be successful in life. In response, the board is redesigning the high school experience and developing a “Profile of a Virginia Graduate.”
The Profile of a Virginia Graduate describes the knowledge, skills, experiences and attributes that students must attain to be successful in college and/or the work force and to be “life ready” in an economy and a world characterized by rapid change. The board has determined that a life-ready Virginia graduate must:
- Achieve and apply appropriate academic and technical knowledge (content knowledge);
- Demonstrate productive workplace skills, qualities, and behaviors (workplace skills);
- Build connections and value interactions with others as a responsible and responsive citizen (community engagement and civic responsibility); and
- Align knowledge, skills and personal interests with career opportunities (career exploration).
The development of the Profile of a Virginia Graduate creates a framework for the Board of Education as it reviews the commonwealth’s diploma standards to ensure that high school graduates are prepared for success life after high school. Legislation passed by the 2016 General Assembly, and signed by Governor Terry McAulliffe, requires that diploma standards aligned with the Profile of a Virginia Graduate become effective with first-time ninth graders in the fall of the 2018-2019 school year, or the graduating class of 2022.
Background
- The Standards of Learning Innovation Committee, in its October 29, 2015 report to the General Assembly (PDF), recommended that the Board of Education develop a Profile of a Virginia Graduate and adjust Virginia’s diploma requirements to conform with the profile.
- The 2016 General Assembly approved, and the governor signed, House Bill 895 and Senate Bill 336, which directed the Board of Education to:
- Develop and implement a Profile of a Virginia Graduate identifying the knowledge and skills that students should attain during high school in order to be successful;
- In developing the profile, give due consideration to the “5 C’s”: critical thinking, creative thinking, collaboration, communication and citizenship;
- Emphasize the development of core skill sets in the early years of high school; and
- Establish multiple paths toward college and career readiness for students to follow in the later years of high school, which could include opportunities for internships, externships, and credentialing.
Timeline
| July and August 2016 | Statewide public hearings |
|---|---|
| Fall 2016 | Proposed revisions to the Standards of Accreditation submitted for executive branch review pursuant to the Administrative Process Act |
| December 1, 2017 | Final regulations completed |
| Fall 2018 | New graduation requirements applicable to first-time freshmen |
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