Virginia SOL Biology End-of-Course test: complete guide to the 2018 Science Standards of Learning, the four reporting categories, the item types, and the 0 to 600 scoring

The Virginia Biology Standards of Learning (SOL) End-of-Course (EOC) test is the statewide high school biology assessment administered by the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE). It measures the 2018 Science Standards of Learning for Biology, the BIO.1 to BIO.8 standards. This page is the index: it explains the item types, the four reporting categories, the format and scoring, and how to study each content area. The content is organized here into six modules that cover all eight Biology standards in depth.

What the Virginia Biology SOL test is

The Biology EOC is one of Virginia's End-of-Course SOL tests, taken when a student finishes the matching course. It is built from the 2018 Science Standards of Learning for Biology and the accompanying Curriculum Framework, which spells out the essential knowledge behind each standard. Science assessments measuring the 2018 standards were first administered in spring 2023, replacing tests built on the older 2010 standards.

Most students sit the Biology EOC in 9th or 10th grade, in a state testing window, with retake windows for students who need to test again. A passing score earns a verified credit that counts toward the requirements for a Standard or Advanced Studies Diploma, so the Biology EOC is part of how a Virginia student graduates, not only a school accountability measure.

The item types

The Biology EOC is computer-based, delivered on the TestNav platform, and every item is machine-scored. There is no essay or written short-answer section. Two item types appear:

• Multiple choice. A question with four answer options and exactly one correct answer.
• Technology-enhanced items (TEIs). Items that use the computer to collect a response in a richer way. Common TEI formats are drag-and-drop (place labels on a diagram or match terms), multi-select (choose every correct answer, with the prompt telling you how many), ordering or sequencing (put steps in the right order), fill-in-the-blank or table completion, graphing or plotting on a grid, and hot spot (click a region of an image). A multi-select is usually scored all-or-nothing, so read how many answers it wants.

Because the test is on a computer, many items pair the question with a stimulus: a data table, a graph, a labeled diagram (a cell, a food web, a pedigree, a Punnett square), or a short passage. The skill the EOC rewards is not just recall; it is reading the stimulus and reasoning from it to the correct response.

Format and scoring

Your raw score (the number of points you earn) is converted to a scale score from 0 to 600 for that test form, using an equating procedure so that the standard is the same across forms.

• Proficient (pass). A scale score of 400 or higher.
• Advanced (pass with advanced proficiency). A scale score of 500 or higher.
• Did not pass. A scale score below 400.

The blueprint mixes a small number of unscored field-test items in with the scored items to develop future tests. You cannot tell which is which, so answer every question carefully. A passing Biology EOC can earn a verified credit toward a Virginia diploma.

The four reporting categories

The 2018 Biology standards are grouped into four reporting categories for the test. This library mirrors them as six modules so each content area gets the depth the test demands.

Reporting Category 1: Scientific Investigation and the Nature of Science

This is BIO.1, the scientific and engineering practices: asking testable questions, planning and carrying out investigations, identifying variables and controls, interpreting data tables and graphs, constructing and critiquing explanations, developing and using models, and communicating information. It is Module 1, but it is also assessed inside the other categories, because most items ask you to use a practice on real content.

Reporting Category 2: Cell Biology and Cellular Processes

This is BIO.2 (chemical and biochemical processes: water, macromolecules, enzymes, protein synthesis, photosynthesis, and cellular respiration) and BIO.3 (cells have structure and function: cell theory, organelles, the cell membrane and transport, the cell cycle and mitosis, and cell division and differentiation). This library splits it into Module 2 and Module 3.

Reporting Category 3: Molecular and Genetic Biology

This is BIO.4 (bacteria and viruses affect living systems: viral host dependence, bacterial roles, germ theory, infectious disease, and immunity) and BIO.5 (common mechanisms for inheritance: DNA structure and protein synthesis, the passing of genetic information, the importance of genetic variation, and biotechnology). This library splits it into Module 4 and Module 5.

Reporting Category 4: Classification, Evolution, and Ecology

This is BIO.6 (classification systems and the domains and kingdoms), BIO.7 (populations change through time: the evidence for evolution, natural selection, variation, and speciation), and BIO.8 (dynamic equilibria within populations, communities, and ecosystems: carrying capacity and limiting factors, nutrient cycles, ecological succession and biomes, and human impact on Virginia ecosystems). This is Module 6.

The scientific and engineering practices (BIO.1)

BIO.1 runs through the whole test, so it is worth knowing as a checklist. The practices are: asking questions and defining problems; planning and carrying out investigations; interpreting, analyzing, and evaluating data; constructing and critiquing conclusions and explanations; developing and using models; and obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information. Whenever you study a topic, ask how the test could turn it into a graph to read, a design to evaluate, or a model to interpret.

How to study the Virginia Biology SOL test

1. Learn the content, then learn to use it. Master the biology for all four reporting categories, but practice applying it: most items give you a stimulus and ask you to do something with it.
2. Drill the practices in BIO.1. Get comfortable identifying the independent and dependent variables and the control, reading data tables and graphs, choosing a valid procedure, interpreting models, and reasoning from evidence to a claim.
3. Practice the technology-enhanced formats. Use VDOE's online practice items so drag-and-drop, multi-select, ordering, and hot-spot items feel familiar before test day. A multi-select is all-or-nothing, so check how many answers it wants.
4. Give every category attention. Cell biology and cellular processes is a large block, and classification, evolution, and ecology pulls together three standards, so do not leave them to the end.
5. Use the released items. VDOE publishes practice and released items that show the exact look and difficulty of the test. Work them under test-like conditions.

The modules, standard by standard

Each topic has a SOL-level answer page with worked exam questions and cross-links, plus a deep-dive guide and a quiz. Browse the set at /va-sol/biology/syllabus.

Module 1: Scientific investigation and the nature of science

experimental design and variables, data tables and graphs, scientific conclusions and explanations, models, evidence, and communication.

Module 2: Chemical and biochemical processes

water and the chemistry of life, macromolecules of life, enzymes and biochemical reactions, photosynthesis, cellular respiration.

Module 3: Cell structure and processes

cell theory and types of cells, cell structure and organelles, the cell membrane and transport, the cell cycle and mitosis, meiosis and genetic variation.

Module 4: Bacteria, viruses, and disease

viruses and their host dependence, bacteria structure and roles, germ theory and infectious disease, the immune system and antibodies.

Module 5: Molecular and genetic biology

DNA structure and replication, protein synthesis: transcription and translation, Mendelian genetics and Punnett squares, patterns of inheritance, mutations and genetic variation, biotechnology and genetic engineering.

Module 6: Classification, evolution, and ecology

classification and taxonomy, evidence for evolution, natural selection and adaptation, speciation and population change, ecosystems and energy flow, nutrient cycles and succession, human impact on Virginia ecosystems.

Module 7: Evolution and classification (BIO.6 and BIO.7)

The evolution and classification half of Reporting Category 4, with its own deep-dive guide and quiz: evidence for evolution, natural selection and adaptation, speciation and population change, classification and phylogeny.

Module 8: Ecology and interdependence (BIO.8)

The ecology half of Reporting Category 4, with its own deep-dive guide and quiz: ecosystems and energy flow, nutrient cycles and succession, population dynamics and carrying capacity, human impact on Virginia ecosystems.

For the official guidance

VDOE publishes the 2018 Science Standards of Learning and Biology Curriculum Framework, the test blueprints, and practice and released items. Always study from the current VDOE materials, because the item formats and the blueprint are specific to this test.