A total of 92 percent of Virginia public schools—including all eight schools in Gloucester County and all three in Mathews—are meeting the state Board of Education’s expectations for achievement and improving student outcomes, and are accredited for the 2019-2020 school year, state Superintendent of Public Instruction James Lane announced Monday.

The accreditation ratings reported by the Virginia Department of Education also show that schools are making progress in reducing chronic absenteeism, but that declines in performance on state reading tests—especially among black and economically disadvantaged students—have resulted in an increase in the number of schools that will receive state assistance to address achievement gaps in English.

“This is the second year that schools have been evaluated under the 2017 Board of Education-approved accreditation standards, and this new system for measuring the progress and needs of schools is doing exactly wha...