Virginia schools post broad gains. The ratings don't all show it.

Virginia released its 2026 School Performance and Support Framework results this morning, the second year of the state's accountability system, and the statewide picture is genuinely good. More than 99 percent of schools are fully accredited. Half of all schools moved up a performance category. The average school score rose four to five points, and three out of every four schools cut their chronic absenteeism rate.

Sixteen schools exited Comprehensive Support and Improvement status, the state's most intensive federal intervention tier. That is 16 of the 49 that were eligible, the most in Virginia history, and 13 of them had been identified since 2018. None were in Northern Virginia, which has few CSI schools to begin with.

Locally, all three of our counties beat the state. Statewide, 44 percent of schools were rated Distinguished. In Loudoun it was 67 percent, Fairfax 56 percent, Arlington 51 percent.

There is a second number in the same release that is harder to read, and it is worth understanding before you look up your own school.

The number of schools flagged for federal support rose from 430 last year to 676 this year. Nearly all of that came from Targeted Support and Improvement, which went from 343 schools to 609. High schools identified for TSI went from zero to 98.

That increase is not a sign those schools got worse. The TSI threshold is pegged to the performance of the highest performing school in the lowest performing tier, so when schools at the bottom improve, the bar rises for everyone else. State officials walked through this at a briefing Tuesday and put it plainly: when all schools improve, the bar gets higher. Roughly 95 percent of newly identified TSI schools were flagged over achievement gaps for students with disabilities, and 84 percent for that group alone.

Where this reaches families is the rating itself. Under current state rules, a TSI identification moves a school down one full performance category regardless of its score. A school that earns 91 points, comfortably in Distinguished range, is published as Meets Expectations if a single student subgroup falls below the threshold.

So some families opening their school's profile today will see a lower rating than last year on a school whose scores held steady or improved. That is the system working as written, and it is going to be confusing anyway.

We pulled the state's full school level data file and counted how many local schools that applies to. Tomorrow we publish the school by school breakdown for Fairfax, Loudoun and Arlington, including every school whose published rating sits below what its score earned, and what is driving it.

Two other things worth knowing. The state changed how it measures academic growth this year, moving from a value added model to growth tables, and growth drove most of the improvement. VDOE flagged that the two years are not directly comparable, and that growth scores can be inflated at schools without enough English learners. Separately, science was the only SOL subject whose pass rate fell.

Virginia also announced 26 million dollars in competitive grants aimed at CSI and ATSI schools, the two most intensive federal support tiers, and a new opt in improvement network for TSI schools. Roughly 67 schools statewide are eligible for the grant money. None of them are in Fairfax, Loudoun or Arlington.

Look up your school: Virginia School Quality Profiles

Full statewide results: VDOE's Fall 2026 SPSF results page

• Fairfax County built its own tool to hide Google's AI answers on student laptops. The division's IT department created the FCPS Customizer, a Chrome extension that strips AI Overviews and search summaries from school-issued Chromebooks. It's rolling out at 11 elementary and middle schools, with the district saying it wants students working from primary sources. WTOP

• A student advocate is pressing Fairfax supervisors to adopt ranked-choice voting before next year's races. John Tashkhanov, a McLean student and policy director for Beyond Partisan, told the board at a Sept. 29 comment session that the switch is "a very realistic goal." Virginia localities have had the power since 2020; so far only Arlington and Charlottesville use it. FFXnow

• The Wittman-Taylor race is testing an anti-corruption pitch in a red-leaning district. Democrat Shannon Taylor, a local prosecutor, accuses Rep. Rob Wittman of "getting rich" trading stocks in companies he regulates; Wittman calls it false and leans on his modest-roots resume. The message echoes similar midterm campaigns nationally. WTOP

• Fire tore through the former Ski Chalet building on Columbia Pike late Tuesday. Crews were dispatched to the Walgreens around 10:45 p.m. but found the blaze next door at 2704 Columbia Pike, with fire and smoke showing from the roof. No injuries; fire marshals are investigating the cause. ARLnow

• Day two of Naresh Bhatt's murder trial turned on a polygraph. The defense revealed Bhatt took a polygraph tied to his wife's 2024 disappearance, and the judge quickly ruled it inadmissible. Jury selection continued, and both sides announced witness lists. WTOP

• A Columbia Pike ICE arrest is now a $35 million federal claim. Jose Mejia Hernandez alleges officers tased him and struck him with a vehicle while he fled during the Aug. 11 arrest, leaving him with brain injuries and lasting trauma. Arlington police are investigating the incident. ARLnow

• Demolition has started at the Sterling townhome where a 2025 arson killed a neighbor. A county-hired crew is tearing down 20701 Riptide Square, where Jacob Bogatin lived before setting the fire that killed Madelaine Akers. Bogatin was convicted of murder and arson in September; neighbors spent months pushing for the cleanup. WTOP

• A Tysons data center plan is on indefinite hold. Serverfarm asked to defer its application for a "Vienna Cloud" complex on Quantum Drive, which would have replaced 1970s office buildings with two 67-foot data center buildings. Supervisor Dalia Palchik says the deferral followed her concerns about environmental impact and nearby homes. FFXnow

• Fairfax County's workforce is the smallest it's been since spring 2022. State data shows the county's total employment shrinking, per FFXnow's daily roundup. FFXnow

• Prince William County added boys volleyball this fall after a middle schooler and his dad lobbied the school board for months. WTOP
• Ashburn native Brandon Diaz advanced on "The Voice," picking Queen Latifah after two chairs turned during his blind audition. The Burn
• Prince Edward visited Mount Vernon on Oct. 1 to mark America's 250th and spotlight the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award. FFXnow
• Loudoun hosts an Oct. 26 community meeting on National Register nominations for Howardsville and St. Louis, two villages founded by emancipated people in the 1870s. Loudoun County
• Marbling Korean Steak House is moving into the long-vacant former Qui space in Gum Spring Village Center. The Burn
• Red Ember in Herndon will specialize in Hunan cuisine, per its newly live website. The Burn
• Graze Craze is bringing its second NoVA charcuterie shop to Great Falls. The Burn
• Work has started on the new Guapo's Mar y Tierra concept at Reston Town Center. The Burn

Schools across the region had a genuinely good year, and a lot of parents are going to open a dashboard this morning and not be able to tell. When the scoreboard and the scores disagree, people trust the scoreboard.

That's the briefing. Look out for each other out there. See you tomorrow.

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