Tutoring in Virginia
Kolu is software. Nobody from Kolu will drive to your house in Virginia, and we have no office there. If you want a person, this page says how we would look for one. If the question is which skill is missing, we can help with that part.
Virginia calls its tests the Standards of Learning, and most families know them as SOLs. Students take reading and math SOLs every spring from third grade through eighth, with science in grades 5 and 8 and an Integrated Reading and Writing test in those same two grades. A middle schooler enrolled in Algebra I takes the Algebra I test. In high school the tests attach to courses. Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, Earth Science, Biology and Chemistry each end with an SOL, and English ends with separate reading and writing tests, usually in eleventh grade. Passing a course and its test earns a verified credit, and a diploma requires five. The state does not fund a school-day SAT or ACT.
What Virginia tests, and when
| Grade | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading and writing | SOL | SOL | SOL | SOL | SOL | SOL | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested |
| Math | SOL | SOL | SOL | SOL | SOL | SOL | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested |
| Science | Not tested | Not tested | SOL Science | Not tested | Not tested | SOL Science | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested |
- SOL (Standards of Learning): reading and writing, math, grades 3 through 8
- SOL Science: science, grades 5 and 8
- Main testing window
- spring, on dates each school division sets, with grades 7 to 12 testing in the last two full instructional weeks of the semester or year
- Standards
- Standards of Learning (SOL)
- Exams tied to a course
- English: Reading, English: Writing, Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, Earth Science, Biology and Chemistry (End-of-course SOL tests)
Starting in 2026-27, state law puts SOL tests for grades 7 to 12 in the last two full instructional weeks of the semester or year, which leaves little time for a retake before school ends. The scores needed to pass the reading and math SOLs are also rising in steps over four years.
Is there a graduation test in Virginia?
Yes. A standard diploma requires five verified credits (two in English, one each in math, science and history), and a verified credit comes from passing the course and its end-of-course SOL test or an approved substitute.
Kolu finds the missing skill and goes back to it
It starts with a skill check, a short test that gets harder or easier depending on the last answer. The result is a map of the subject broken into skills with their prerequisites drawn in, each one marked as solid, still being learned, or a gap.
After that, each session is a handful of activities picked for that student, usually something due for review, a gap to repair and one new skill. When an answer is wrong, Kolu looks at which earlier skill the mistake points to and goes back to it. Here is what that looks like for a sixth grader who can't divide fractions.
The problem on the page
3/4 ÷ 2/5
Dividing fractions
Grade 6
Multiplying fractions
Grade 5 · rests on the one below
Equivalent fractions
Grade 4 · usually where it started
Multiplication facts
Grade 3
Kolu does not call a skill mastered after one right answer. That takes correct work on different kinds of problems on different days, and a skill that fades gets brought back.
Kolu is not test prep for SOL. It has no bank of released questions. It teaches the skills the test draws on, and it will not do tonight's homework.
When to hire a person instead
Some students need a person, and software is the wrong purchase for them. That includes a child who shuts down when the work gets hard, a student with a learning disability who needs someone trained in it, and anyone with an exam in ten days.
Ask the school first. Teachers know who tutors, and a counselor can tell you what the district already offers at no cost. A nearby college is the next place to look, since students there took these courses recently and usually charge less than an agency.
Whoever you hire, ask one question before the first session: how will you find out what my child doesn't know? If the answer is that they will go over the homework, keep looking.
Free for one subject, $15 a month for 5
Kolu is free for one subject at a time, with one full skill check every 30 days and up to 4 sessions a day. Plus is $15 a month, or $120 for a year, and covers 5 subjects at once with unlimited skill checks. A learner under 13 needs a parent or guardian to set up the account.