Student achievement on Standards of Learning tests during 2016-2017 was relatively unchanged compared with performance during the previous school year, although black students made gains on five of the six elementary and middle school reading tests, the Virginia Department of Education reported Tuesday. 

Overall, 80 percent of students achieved proficient or advanced scores in reading, and 79 percent passed tests in mathematics, compared with 80 percent in both subjects in 2015-2016. Eighty-two percent passed grade-level or end-of-course SOL tests in science, compared with 83 percent previously.

Student achievement in English writing improved by two points, with 79 percent passing compared with 77 percent during 2015-2016. Overall achievement in history/social science was unchanged, with 86 percent of students passing SOL tests in the subject.

“Students continue to perform at substantially higher levels on the commonwealth’s rigorous assessments in mathematics, Engl...