Achilles, Bethel and Botetourt elementary schools in Gloucester were among the 57 Title I schools recently recognized by the Virginia Board of Education for raising the academic achievement of economically disadvantaged students.

The recognition is based on student performance on state standards of learning (SOL) assessments during the 2012-2013 and 2011-2012 school years.

The DOE recognized two schools as Title I Highly Distinguished schools and 55 as Title I Distinguished schools. The Highly Distinguished schools exceeded all state and federal accountability benchmarks for two consecutive years and had pass rates on English and mathematics SOL tests at or above the 85 percentile.

The Distinguished schools, including the three Gloucester elementary schools, met all state and federal accountability requirements for two consecutive years and achieved reading and mathematics SOL pass rates at the 60th percentile or higher. 

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