Martinsville City Public Schools (MCPS) students have made substantial academic gains over the past five years, according to the 2025-2026 Standards of Learning results released this week by the Virginia Department of Education.
Since the 2020-2021 school year, when schools began the long process of recovering from learning loss caused by the pandemic, division-wide pass rates in Martinsville have climbed 11 percentage points in reading and 35 points in math, outpacing statewide recovery in both subjects over the same five-year period.
Statewide, Virginia students saw a five-year gain of 5 percentage points in reading and 19 points in math since the 20-21 school year. Martinsville’s gains over that same time period were more than double the state’s in both subjects.
“These results represent five years of tremendous hard work across our division,” said MCPS Superintendent Dr. Zebedee Talley. “I am incredibly proud of our students and teachers for continuing to rise to the challenge, and our families for supporting that hard work every step of the way. We still have work to do, but this sustained growth shows us that we’re moving in the right direction together.”
Five-Year Trend by Subject
Reading: MCPS saw an 11-point gain in pass rates, growing from 53% in 2020-2021 to 64% in 2025-2026.
Math: MCPS pass rates rose from 30% in 2020-2021 to 65% in 2025-2026, more than doubling in a five-year period.
Science: MCPS went from a 28% pass rate in 2020-2021 to 52% in 2025-2026, a 24-point gain.
Student Groups Make Gains
While growth over the last five years has been across all student groups, several groups have achieved gains that outpace the division’s already strong trend of improvement. Black, Hispanic, and economically disadvantaged students, along with English learners, saw pass rates increase faster than the division average in both reading and math.
Reading (division average: +11 point growth): Black students (+14), Hispanic students (+17), English learners (+17), and economically disadvantaged students (+13).
Math (division average +35 points): Black students (+39), Hispanic students (+41), English learners (+42), and economically disadvantaged students (+36).
“For the past five years, we have been very intentional about strengthening academic supports and using student data to provide targeted instruction based on individual student needs,” said Assistant Superintendent of Instruction Dr. Angilee Downing. “It is encouraging to see those investments paying off in sustained growth across multiple subjects and student groups. These results enforce the importance of that work while also helping us identify where we need to continue refining our instruction and providing additional support.”
These latest results build on other measures of academic progress across the division. During the 2025-2026 school year, MCPS celebrated its ninth consecutive year of accreditation. That same year, under the VDOE’s new School Performance and Support Framework, Martinsville High School was the only local high school to earn a “Distinguished” rating and Martinsville Middle School was rated “On Track.”
Together, the division’s five-year SOL trends and recent accountability results illustrate a sustained trend of academic recovery while also identifying areas for continued growth using proven methods of targeted instruction and academic supports backed by student performance data.
“These results give us a lot to celebrate,” said Dr. Talley, “and they give us a lot of reasons to be excited about what’s coming next. I always say our students are capable of great things, and we will continue to work together to give them the support and opportunities they need to continue to succeed.”