Virginia SOL End-of-Course English (Virginia): complete guide to the two EOC tests, Reading and Writing, the item types, the direct-writing Short Paper, and scoring

The Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) End-of-Course (EOC) English assessment is how Virginia measures high school reading and writing, administered by the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE). It is not one test but two: the EOC Reading SOL and the EOC Writing SOL, both built on the 2017 English Standards of Learning. Together they assess transferable skills applied to unseen texts and to your own writing: close reading, vocabulary, the writing process, command of conventions, and a full direct-writing composition. This page is the index for our EOC English content: a map of the two tests, the item types, the direct-writing Short Paper, the scoring, and the study approach, with links to every dot point.

The two tests at a glance

EOC English splits reading and writing into two separate SOL tests, each reported on its own 0 to 600 scaled score.

• EOC Reading SOL. Multiple-choice and technology-enhanced items over several unseen passages: literary or fiction texts (short stories, narrative, poetry, drama) and nonfiction or informational texts (essays, articles, historical and technical pieces). It also tests vocabulary and word analysis, using context, roots, and affixes.
• EOC Writing SOL. Two parts. First, a multiple-choice and TEI section on the writing process (planning, composing, revising) and editing (usage, grammar, punctuation, mechanics), usually working from a student draft. Second, the direct-writing Short Paper, where you write a complete composition to a prompt, scored by a rubric.

Both tests are delivered online and use technology-enhanced items: hot spot / hot text, drag-and-drop, fill-in-the-blank, and drop-down. Each test produces a scaled score, and 400 is the cut to pass.

Reading literary texts

The Reading test presents unseen literary texts and asks you to analyze them. Questions test central idea and theme, plot and structure, character, point of view, and the craft of fiction, poetry, and drama. The reliable approach is to read actively, then answer with the passage in front of you, returning to the lines a question points to.

• Analyzing theme and central idea in literary texts
• Plot, conflict, and structure in fiction
• Character, motivation, and point of view
• Reading poetry on the SOL
• Figurative language and literary devices

Reading nonfiction and informational texts

Nonfiction passages on the Reading test cover essays, articles, speeches, and historical or technical writing. You analyze the main idea, supporting details, text structure, author's purpose, and the strength of an argument, and you make inferences anchored in the text.

• Determining the main idea of a nonfiction text
• Making inferences and drawing conclusions
• Text structure and organizational patterns
• Author's purpose, craft, and point of view
• Analyzing argument and evaluating evidence

Vocabulary and word analysis

The Reading test assesses how you work out the meaning of words. You use context clues, roots and affixes, and your knowledge of connotation and figurative language, and you read graphics and reference entries.

• Using context clues to determine meaning
• Roots, prefixes, and suffixes
• Denotation, connotation, and nuance
• Figurative and academic vocabulary in context

The writing process: planning, composing, and revising

The first part of the Writing test is multiple-choice and TEI items on the writing process. You plan and organize ideas, develop and elaborate them, and revise a draft for focus, coherence, transitions, word choice, and sentence variety.

• Planning and organizing a composition
• Developing and elaborating ideas
• Revising for unity, coherence, and transitions
• Word choice, tone, and sentence variety
• Revising and editing item types

Editing: usage, grammar, and mechanics

The editing items on the Writing test, and the Usage and Mechanics domain of the Short Paper, reward command of standard English. You correct agreement, pronoun, verb-tense, and modifier errors, and you fix sentence boundaries, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling.

• Subject-verb and pronoun-antecedent agreement
• Verb tense, pronoun case, and modifiers
• Sentence boundaries: fragments and run-ons
• Punctuation: commas, apostrophes, and more
• Capitalization and spelling

The direct-writing Short Paper

The second part of the Writing test is the direct-writing Short Paper: a complete composition written to a prompt, scored on a two-domain rubric. You establish a focus, develop it with specific detail, organize it coherently, and proofread for conventions.

• Understanding the direct-writing Short Paper
• Analyzing the prompt and planning your response
• Composing and Written Expression: the first domain
• Usage and Mechanics: the second domain
• The Short Paper rubric and scoring

How the tests are scored

Each EOC English test is reported on a scaled score from 0 to 600, with performance levels:

• Below Proficient (Fail): below 400.
• Proficient (Pass): 400 to 499.
• Advanced (Pass): 500 to 600.

The Reading test is scored from the multiple-choice and TEI item key. The Writing test combines the multiple-choice and TEI section with the direct-writing Short Paper. The Short Paper uses a two-domain rubric: Composing and Written Expression (scored 1 to 4) and Usage and Mechanics (scored 1 to 4), equally weighted. The two domain scores are added (a 2 to 8 range) and folded into the overall Writing scaled score. Always confirm the current cut scores from VDOE reports, because the state sets them.

The standards behind the assessment

The EOC Reading and Writing SOL tests are aligned to the 2017 English Standards of Learning, published by the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE). The Reading standards require students to read, comprehend, interpret, analyze, and evaluate fiction and nonfiction and to apply vocabulary and word-analysis skills. The Writing standards require students to plan, compose, and revise writing and to edit for standard English grammar, usage, punctuation, capitalization, spelling, and sentence structure. Virginia has begun phasing in an integrated reading-and-writing item type (a nonfiction passage with selected-response items and a written response), but the two-test EOC structure on the 2017 SOL is what this content is grounded in.

How to study EOC English

1. Treat reading and writing as one connected skill, because strong reading feeds strong writing and the editing conventions overlap with the Short Paper.
2. Read unseen texts widely (literary prose, poetry, drama, and nonfiction), practicing central idea, inference, structure, and author's craft.
3. Build vocabulary from context, using clues, roots, and affixes rather than memorizing word lists.
4. Drill the editing conventions the multiple-choice and TEI items test: agreement, verb tense, sentence boundaries, punctuation, and spelling.
5. Write toward the Short Paper rubric. Practice full compositions that are focused, developed, organized, and proofread, scoring yourself on both domains.
6. Rehearse the online format. Practice the TEI types (hot spot, drag-and-drop, fill-in-the-blank, drop-down) and time both tests against the released VDOE items.

For the official exam materials

VDOE publishes the 2017 English Standards of Learning, SOL practice items, the high school writing rubrics and anchor papers, and scoring information on its website. Start with the Virginia SOL Assessment Program, the SOL Practice Items (All Subjects) page, and the English SOL Online Writing Resources. Always study from the current standards, released items, and rubrics, because the item types and cut scores are set by VDOE.