Some people feel that because the SOL exams are mostly multiple choice they do not measure creativity and critical thinking skills. The truth is until children learn foundational information they do not have the knowledge for critical analysis. Some people feel that poor performance on an SOL test hurts children's self esteem. The truth is positive self esteem comes from true achievement. Some people feel that the SOL tests are unfair to those who do not speak English as a native tongue.
Some people feel that the SOLs are inappropriate for students with disabilities.
Some people feel that children who move a lot are at an unfair disadvantage. The truth is the test scores of students who enrolled more than 20 days after the school year begins will not be calculated in their school's overall test results. For high school students the number of tests required to graduate are reduced for students arriving in the junior and senior year. Some people feel that some children just don t test well especially in multiple choice tests. The truth is the tests just one of many criteria to identify children s strengths and weaknesses and at the high school level the tests may be repeated as needed.