VRA

The Virginia Department of Education requires that elementary education students pass the Virginia Reading Assessment (VRA) to obtain licensure. As can be seen from the title, it is designed to assess teacher candidates’ knowledge of the teaching of reading.

It is a reading assessment that is aligned with the English Standards of Learning for Virginia Public Schools (SOL) and the National Reading Panel’s five key components of effective reading instruction—phonics, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, comprehension, and fluency. The VRA will satisfy for elementary teachers the reading component of the teaching skills requirement mandated by the federal No Child Left Behind Act. The test will help identify those teaching candidates who have the knowledge and skills that are important for performing the job of an elementary (PK–3 or PK–6) teacher, a special education teacher, or a reading specialist in Virginia public schools.

The assessment is a four-hour test that contains 90 multiple-choice items plus four short instructional responses.  The passing score for elementary education teachers for the VRA is 235.

For more details about the VRA, to register to take the exam, or for exemption requirements, go to VRA home page.