Roanoke County Public Schools receive strong ratings in statewide School Quality Profiles report

Roanoke, Virginia – The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) released the 2025 edition of the Virginia School Quality Profiles on December 10, offering a comprehensive view of how public schools are performing across the commonwealth. The profiles provide detailed insights into academic achievement, school safety, teacher quality, and overall student performance — with a fresh approach under the state’s new accountability model, the School Performance and Support Framework (SPSF).

For Roanoke County Public Schools, the results were overwhelmingly positive, with ten schools earning “Distinguished” ratings, including all five high schools in the division. Additionally, fifteen schools received an “On Track” rating, and only one school fell into the “Off Track” category — and by less than a single point. Importantly, no schools in the county were labeled “Needs Intensive Support,” the lowest performance designation.

A New Model for Measuring School Success

The SPSF framework evaluates schools across multiple performance dimensions — including Mastery (student performance on Virginia’s Standards of Learning assessments), Growth (academic improvement over time), Readiness (how prepared students are for the next stage of life), and Graduation (applicable to high schools). Schools are then scored on a 100-point scale and placed into one of four categories:

• Distinguished (90 and above)

• On Track (80–89)

• Off Track (65–79)

• Needs Intensive Support (below 65)

This approach allows for a more nuanced understanding of how schools are serving students — not just through test results, but also through year-over-year improvement and college and career readiness.

Superintendent Praises Progress and Effort

Dr. Ken Nicely, superintendent of Roanoke County Public Schools, expressed pride in the district’s showing and emphasized that the numbers reflect far more than basic academic results.

“The School Quality Profiles give us a benchmark, but our purpose goes far beyond test scores. Our goal is to ensure every student is Opportunity Ready — prepared with the knowledge, skills and mindset needed for success after graduation. These results affirm that our students are gaining the skills, confidence, and curiosity they need to thrive,” Dr. Nicely said.

He also pushed back on the “Off Track” designation assigned to one school, calling it misleading.

“The ‘off track’ label misrepresents the hard work and progress made by our teachers and students. They are doing all the right things and, despite the label, are very much on track toward continued improvement,” he stated.

C-Change Framework Shows Results in Classrooms

Dr. Nicely credited much of the district’s continued success to the implementation of the C-Change Framework, an approach that emphasizes quality instruction, a positive learning culture, and real-world skills such as collaboration and problem-solving.

“The progress reflected in this year’s profiles shows how our C-Change Framework — from high-quality instruction to a positive learning culture — is working in classrooms every day. Our teachers are creating deeper learning experiences that build real-world thinking, collaboration, and problem-solving, and I’m so proud of our staff and students as they demonstrate their success,” Dr. Nicely added.

With these strong ratings and forward momentum, Roanoke County Public Schools continue to demonstrate a deep commitment to preparing students for success in life beyond the classroom.