Isle of Wight County’s School Board is proposing tweaks to its end-of-course exam exemption policy in hopes of incentivizing middle and high school students to minimize absences.

The division has long allowed an end-of-course exam exemption for high school students who maintain a B-minus or higher grade by the date of the final test. Revisions to School Board Policy IKGA, which went before the board for a first reading on Aug. 8, would add language requiring that students also have five or fewer absences per semester to qualify for the exemption for the 2024-25 school year.

It would also expand the exemption to middle school students who take a high school-level course, provided they too maintain at least a B-minus average and five or fewer days absent.

“Years ago we had the attendance piece. It was removed. Now with chronic absenteeism and the focus that we must have on it per the state of Virginia … the principals felt that this policy having absenteeism be part of the requirement to become eligible for the exam exemption or final assessment exemption would really go a long way in helping them with chronic absenteeism,” said Deputy Superintendent Susan Goetz.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed bipartisan legislation last year allocating an additional $418 million to Virginia school divisions, from which Isle of Wight received a $1.8 million share, tied to Youngkin’s “ALL In” plan – an acronym for attendance, literacy and learning that aims to combat chronic absenteeism and boost scores on Virginia’s Standards of Learning exams. Youngkin announced the plan in September after scores from the 2022-23 school year showed schools statewide were still below their pre-pandemic SOL pass rates.

The state defines chronic absenteeism as missing 10% or more of the school year. 

According to data Kristy Buggs, the division’s coordinator of student and family support, previously shared with the School Board, 11% of Smithfield High School’s more than 1,300 students were deemed chronically absent as of June 13 for the 2023-24 school year, with the same percentage reported for 2022-23 and 28% reported for 2021-22.

Windsor High School, which saw 41% of its more than 500 students chronically absent in 2021-22, had by 2022-23 dropped to 18% and, by June 13, had fallen another two percentage points to 16% for 2023-24.

Smithfield Middle School saw 18% of its more than 600 students as of June 13 deemed chronically absent during the 2023-24 school year, down from 21% in 2022-23 and 30% in 2021-22.

Georgie D. Tyler Middle School, which saw 45% of its more than 370 students chronically absent in 2021-22, had dropped its rate to 16% in 2022-23 and to 10% by June 13 for 2023-24.

Buggs, in February, said the division’s goal is to see all nine schools at or below 15% for chronic absenteeism.

The proposed policy will go before the School Board for a second reading and likely vote at its Sept. 12 meeting.