Tuesday, Aug. 25, The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) released summary report data for school division performance for the 2025-26 school year. The results show increased performance from Portsmouth Public Schools (PPS), with the division earning at least 60 percent pass rates in all tested subject areas for the first time since the 2020 shutdown of schools due to the COVID pandemic.
“I am incredibly proud of the results our students achieved on this year’s testing,” said PPS Superintendent Dr. Elie Bracy, III. “These outcomes are a direct reflection of the hard work of our students, teachers, staff and families. These results reinforce that we are on the right path, and we will continue building on this momentum throughout this school year.”
Brighton, Cradock, Douglass Park, Victory, and Westhaven elementary schools as well as Churchland High School all logged growth in every tested subject area this year.
This included Brighton Elementary’s 28.5 percentage point increase in science as well as a 9 percentage point increase in Virginia Studies. Cradock Elementary had a 9.9 percentage point increase in reading and a 17.3 percentage point increase in Virginia Studies.
“One of the keys to this success was having experienced teachers in our classrooms,” Bracy said. “Thanks to the work of our School Board and City Council, we were able to address our long-time compressed pay scales and become the highest-paying school division in the region for teachers. As such, with this competitive pay, our schools increased the number of veteran educators who could lead their classrooms skillfully.”
The Spark Schools initiative is an example of the importance of staffing in a school setting.
Spark Schools is the division’s initiative to help support school campuses that have experienced ongoing challenges related to staff retention and teacher vacancies. Teachers and other instructional staff selected to work at a Spark School receive a net of $30,000 in stipends after taxes over the course of three consecutive years.
The division’s first Spark School was Douglass Park Elementary School. In 2024-25, the school had only one certified teacher. Thanks to the Spark School initiative, in 2025-26, the school had 34 certified teachers. With this staff in place, reading pass rates at Douglass Park increased from 37 to 47.3; math increased from 36 to 43.1; science increased from 35 to 45.6; and Virginia Studies almost doubled from 22 to 43.7.
Learn more about Spark Schools here.
With this growth divisionwide, administration anticipates more than doubling the number of schools classified as “on track” by the VDOE’s accountability system, going from five schools last year to 13 schools this year. In addition, there are two schools in contention for Distinguished School status.
This, though, is based on preliminary projections. With the state’s system, any school that is federally identified must drop an entire classification level despite their performance. Federally identified schools will not be released until September, which will determine the final designations.
To see the full list of results, visit doe.virginia.gov.