Charlottesville, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Virginia remains one of just six states still requiring high school exit exams, but that could soon change as discussions about their relevance gain momentum. Claiborne Test Prep and Tutoring CEO Lee Elberson joined Cville Right Now Live to provide insight into the historical and current debates surrounding standardized testing in education. 

“Dating back even to the early 20th century, I mean, they started to introduce exit exams as a way to be able to promise a certain caliber of graduate going into the workforce,” Elberson explained, adding that they gained prominence in the 1970s and 1980s as states sought to standardize high school graduation requirements. 

In recent years, however, the pandemic has accelerated resistance to exit exams. “Most of the DEI initiatives pushed forward, you noticed a lot of the marginalized populations were performing less well than well-resourced populations,” Elberson said, explaining one reason why many states are dropping these requirements. 

Elberson recommended that Virginia students preparing for the current Standards of Learning (SOL) tests use the Virginia Department of Education platform to practice, emphasizing the importance of working within the existing system. 

Listen here for the full conversation: