Where can I find official Virginia SOL practice tests?

The Virginia Department of Education publishes official released tests, item sets, and practice items directly on doe.virginia.gov, organized by subject and grade.

Are released tests the same as the current year's SOL test?

No. Released tests use real retired questions to show the format and difficulty of SOL tests, but they aren't the exact test a student will take. Some courses only have released item sets rather than a full released test, since their item bank can't support a full release.

What's the difference between a released test and SOL Prep's practice questions?

VDOE's released items show real retired test questions. SOL Prep's practice questions are generated per standard to target exactly what a student is weak on, based on a diagnostic — the two are complementary, not competing.

What is the JLab SOL practice test?

JLab refers to Jefferson Lab, a Newport News research facility that hosts a long-running free Virginia SOL practice test tool at education.jlab.org, covering Math (grades 2-8, Algebra I & II, Geometry) and Science (grades 3, 5, 8, Biology, Chemistry, Earth Science) using real retired VDOE questions.

Virginia SOL Practice Tests: Official Released Items (Free)

"Practice test" is one of the most searched terms among Virginia SOL parents and students — and the good news is that real, official practice material exists and is free. Here's where it actually lives, and how to use it well.

Official VDOE released tests and item sets

The Virginia Department of Education publishes Released Tests & Item Sets for every SOL subject. These use real, retired SOL questions to show the actual format, phrasing, and difficulty of the current tests. Some courses only have a released item set rather than a full released test, because their question bank is too small to retire a whole test at once.

Official SOL practice items

Separately, VDOE also publishes SOL Practice Items by content area and grade — including technology-enhanced items (TEI), the interactive question types (drag-and-drop, hot-spot, multi-select) that appear on the real online test. If a student has never seen a TEI question before test day, that's worth fixing first.

JLab: Jefferson Lab's free SOL practice tests

"JLab" — Jefferson Lab, the Newport News research facility — hosts one of the longest-running free Virginia SOL practice tools on the web at education.jlab.org. It covers Math (grades 2–8, Algebra I & II, Geometry) and Science (grades 3, 5, 8, Biology, Chemistry, Earth Science), pulling from real, retired VDOE questions going back years. You can request a quick 5, 10, 20, or 40-question quiz from any category — no account needed.

What released tests won't tell you

A released test shows you the test's format. It doesn't tell you which specific standards a particular student is weak on — it's the same fixed set of questions for everyone. That's the gap a standard-by-standard diagnostic fills: instead of a generic practice test, find exactly which standards need work, then practice those directly. Browse every Virginia SOL standard by subject and grade to see what a specific course actually covers.