Science Education
Which tests are included on this site?
Do you have any other SOL practice tests, such as Biology, History or English?
I would like a paper version of these tests. Is there an easy way to print all of the questions?
Can you give me permission to use the SOL questions and graphics found on this site?
When are new questions added to this site?
When are 'real' 2nd and 4th grade test items going to be added?
Why aren't there explanations written for every question?
Can I use this site, even if I'm not in Virginia?
I completed a test but forgot to print out my results. Can the information be recovered?
I have a question that isn't answered here. What should I do?
Which tests are included on this site?
The questions on this site come from the following released tests: Grade 3 Math [2000 - 2005, 2007], Grade 3 Science [2000 - 2007], Grade 4 Math [2007], Grade 5 Math [2000 - 2005, 2007], Grade 5 Science [2000 - 2007], Grade 5 Technology [2000 - 2002], Grade 6 Math [2006 - 2007], Grade 7 Math [2006 - 2007], Grade 8 Math [2000 - 2004, 2007], Grade 8 Science [2000 - 2005], Grade 8 Technology [2000 - 2002], Chemistry [2000 - 2005, 2007], Earth Science [2000 - 2005, 2007], Algebra I [2000 - 2007], Algebra II [2000 - 2004, 2007], Geometry [2000 - 2007].
There are no plans to expand this site to include other subjects.
Do you have any other SOL practice tests, such as Biology, History or English?
No. The only SOL practice tests that we have are the ones listed on the index page. Jefferson Lab is a basic physics research facility. Biology, History and English are subjects which are out of our range of expertise.
You may wish to check the released tests available from the Virginia Department of Education for the subjects that we do not cover.
I would like a paper version of these tests. Is there an easy way to print all of the questions?
The best way to do this is to download the original released tests in PDF format from the Virginia Department of Education.
Depending on how you intend to use the paper copies or how many copies you intend to make, you may need to get permission from the Virginia Department of Education.
Can you give me permission to use the SOL questions and graphics found on this site?
No. All of the SOL questions and SOL question graphics are owned by the Virginia Department of Education. Jefferson Lab is not affiliated with the Virginia Department of Education in any way and we cannot give you permission to use their materials. You must obtain permission directly from the Virginia Department of Education.
When are new questions added to this site?
New questions are added as soon as new tests are released by the Virginia Department of Education and we receive permission to use the test questions on this site. New tests have been released as early as November and as late as March.
Questions were last added to this site in April of 2008.
When are 'real' 2nd and 4th grade test items going to be added?
Real 4th grade math questions were realeased as part of the 2007-2008 release cycle. These questions have been added to the site. The reclassified 5th grade questions that had been used as the 4th grade practice materials have not been removed from the site. The current plan is to keep those questions in place at least until the end of the 2008 testing cycle.
You can exclude the reclassified 5th grade questions from the 4th grade test by hitting the yellow 'More options, please!' button before starting the practice test. The first options page allows you to filter questions by year. Checking the 2007 box will give you 'pure' 4th grade questions.
As no 2nd grade materials were included as part of the 2007-2008 release cycle, all 2nd grade materials on this site are reclassified 3rd grade questions.
Why aren't there explanations written for every question?
Writing explanations takes a fair amount of effort and, unfortunately, there is exactly one person working on this project. Since there are many other things that need to be done during the course of the day, time that can be devoted to writing explanations is somewhat limited. Statistics are kept on which questions are most frequently answered incorrectly and that information is used to determine which questions are the most in need of an explanation.
Can I use this site, even if I'm not in Virginia?
Of course! Math and Science in Virginia is pretty much the same as math and science everywhere else. If you can reach this site, you can use this site.
Can I link to this site?
Of course! Use this address if you want to link directly to the SOL Practice Test site:
http://education.jlab.org/solquiz/
Can you tell me specific information about the Standards of Learning tests, such as when my child will be tested, whether or not they can use calculators or what my child's test score is?
No. Jefferson Lab provides this site as a public service and is not affiliated with the Virginia Department of Education. You should contact the Virginia Department of Education, your child's school or your child's teacher if you have specific questions regarding the Standards of Learning tests.
I completed a test but forgot to print out my results. Can the information be recovered?
No. All of your test's information is stored in your browser's cookie file. Once you start a new test or quit the browser, all of your test information is erased. They are not saved anywhere and cannot be recovered.
I completed a test and e-mailed the results to myself or to my teacher, but they didn't arrive. Can you send my results again?
No. All of your test's information is stored in your browser's cookie file. Once you start a new test or quit the browser, all of your test information is erased. They are not saved anywhere and cannot be recovered.
It certainly doesn't hurt to e-mail the results to yourself. However, if you do, make certain that you receive the results before starting a new test. Once again, your test results are not saved anywhere. Once they are gone, they are gone for good.
It's SOL time and I'm trying to use this site. Why is it so slow? It wasn't this slow earlier in the year.
This site receives a spike in traffic as SOL test time nears. In the past, this increased traffic has overwhelmed our server, causing it to slow to a crawl. Although a new server was installed on March 11, 2005, it just barely got through the 2007 testing season. So, rather than buying a new server every couple of years to get us through the time of maximum load, we are approaching things differently in 2008. Several 'spare' servers were brought on-line in April, 2008, and the site has been running in a multi-server mode since then. If traffic begins to overwhelm the existing machines, additional servers can be added to the pool. Once testing season is over, the spare servers will be shut down. Since we have never attempted anything like this before, any odd behavior or general wackiness should be reported to Steve Gagnon.
Keep in mind that some school districts direct all of their internet traffic through a central point. If your school is in such a district, it is possible that, while our server(s) may have spare capacity, your district's server could become overloaded. There is nothing that we can do about this kind of situation.
I am trying to use the site but it isn't working. The site is very slow. It's early May and during the regular school day. What's going on?
If it is early May and during the regular school day, you aren't the only person who decided to use this site. Unfortunately, our resources are not infinite. It is highly likely that there are too many people using our site at one time, causing our server to slow to a crawl. It is also possible that there are too many people attempting to use your school's network at one time. In any event, the only short term solution to this problem is to wait for traffic to die down. While this isn't the optimum solution for classes that are trying to use the site during the school day, it may be comforting to know that the site can usually be used during the evening and early morning hours without a slow down.
I am trying to use the site but it isn't working. It keeps telling me that it needs cookies. What are they and how do I get them?
A cookie is a small file that web browsers use to store information sent to it by web sites. Our site uses cookies to keep track of which questions you are going to be asked, what your answers were, and other bits of information that the site needs in order to function. If you do not accept cookies, the site will not function.
How to tell your browser to accept cookies varies from browser to browser. Usually, the cookie settings can be found within the browser's general preferences settings or from within the browser's security settings.
If you are viewing our site from with another site, such as Blackboard, it is possible that your browser's security settings won't allow our site to set its cookie. The easiest way around this problem is to go to our site directly. Clicking on the link below should open our site in a new browser window:
http://education.jlab.org/solquiz/
I am trying to use the site but it isn't working. I can't select any of the tests and there is an 'error on page' message. What can I do?
This problem seems to pop up when people try to use our site from within another site, such as Blackboard. The easiest way around this problem is to go to our site directly. Clicking on the link below should open our site in a new browser window:
http://education.jlab.org/solquiz/
I am trying to use the site but it isn't working. Pages don't completely load, graphics are missing, the site is slow and sometimes I can't connect at all. What can I do?
This problem has popped up in the past with people who were using a Linksys wireless router. Faulty firmware within the router caused the router to send bad information to our server (invalid Maximum Segment Size values were being sent, to be specific). Jefferson Lab's firewall, by default, interprets this behavior as an attack and blocks further traffic from the offending machine, resulting in pages not loading, missing graphics, etc... Updating the wireless router's firmware solves this problem. Updated firmware should be available from the manufacturer's website.
You can troubleshoot this problem by plugging your computer directly into your cable modem. If you can then connect to our site, the router is at fault.
I am trying to use the site but it isn't working. I have read all of the other troubleshooting tips, but they either don't describe the problem I am having or didn't solve the problem. What can I do?
Send a message to Steve Gagnon. Be as detailed and as specific as possible. What are the symptoms of the problem? What browser are you using (Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer, etc...)? Which version of the browser are you using? What operating system are you using (Mac OS X, Windows XP, Windows Vista, etc...)? The more information that you can provide, the more likely it is that we will be able to solve the problem.
I have a question that isn't answered here. What should I do?
You can send a message to Steve Gagnon.
This page is maintained by Steve Gagnon.