TestNav is the secure testing application (built by Pearson) that Virginia public schools use to administer SOL tests online. Students use it in school, under a proctor, not as a general study app.

Can students practice with TestNav before test day?

Yes. TestNav has a practice mode that loads VDOE's official SOL practice items without needing a real test ticket or login, so students can get comfortable with the interface before the actual test.

Why does the TestNav interface matter?

TestNav's toolbar, answer-flagging system, and navigation between questions work differently from a typical online quiz. Students who've never seen it before test day sometimes lose time just figuring out the interface instead of the content.

What Is TestNav? How Virginia's Online SOL Testing Works

If your child mentioned "TestNav" and you weren't sure what it meant — it's not a study app or a website you log into from home. It's the actual software Virginia schools use to run the SOL test itself.

TestNav is the testing platform, not a study tool

TestNav is built by Pearson and used by Virginia's SOL assessment program to deliver tests online. Students access it at school, on a school-managed device, under a proctor — it isn't something a student logs into independently from a home computer to take the real test.

Practice mode exists, and it's official

TestNav has a practice mode that loads VDOE's official SOL practice items without a real test ticket. This is the same interface students will see on test day — the toolbar, the question navigation, the way flagged/skipped questions are marked — just with practice content instead of a live test. It's a genuinely useful first step before test day, separate from studying the actual subject content.

Interface familiarity is worth 10 minutes

Technology-enhanced items — drag-and-drop, hot-spot, multi-select questions — behave differently from a typical multiple-choice quiz. A student who's comfortable with the content but has never seen these interaction types before can lose time on test day just figuring out how to answer, not what the answer is. Ten minutes in TestNav's practice mode ahead of time removes that variable entirely.

Where TestNav practice fits into studying

TestNav practice mode gets a student comfortable with how the test works. It doesn't tell you which standards a student is actually weak on — that's a separate, more useful question. See where to find official released tests and practice items for the content side, or browse SOL standards by subject and grade to study the specific standards a course covers.