Coordinator for Accountability
Last Updated: September 2, 2010
Murray Ritter joined the SECEP staff as the Coordinator for Accountability in June 2005. Previously he worked in the Newport News Public Schools as a mathematics teacher, softball coach, and lead teacher at Ferguson High School and later at Woodside High School. He was an assistant principal at Gloucester High School in Gloucester County after leaving Newport News Public Schools in 1999.
The 2010-2011 school year will be Dr. Ritter’s 18th year in PreK-12 public education. Additional teaching experience comes from his assignment on the faculty at the United States Military Academy and as an adjunct faculty member for Thomas Nelson Community College. He holds both a master’s and doctorate of education degree from George Washington University. The doctoral dissertation was on the roles of climate and culture in the newly opened high school building.
As SECEP Coordinator for Accountability, Dr. Ritter is responsible for the data collection and analysis design that supports the SECEP leadership team in their mission of providing comprehensive educational programming for a diverse population of students with challenging needs through high quality instruction within a safe and nurturing environment.
Specific areas of responsibility include:
- The Standards of Learning accountability program.
- The Virginia alternative programs that are part of the SOL program.
- The Discipline, Crime, and Violence data reporting.
- Staff training in the areas identified above.
Testing
Our students are found in grades pre-kindergarten through high school and come to SECEP from the eight surrounding school divisions:
- Chesapeake
- Franklin City
- Isle of Wight County
- Portsmouth
- Norfolk
- Southampton County
- Suffolk County
- Virginia Beach
Virginia State Assessment and Local School Division Programs
Our students take part in the Virginia assessment programs as well as programs that are part of the student accountability and assessment program for the home school division. SECEP students will follow the test calendars determined by their home school division unless otherwise exempted. School divisions with test calendars on their web site are found in pull-down menus in the upper left corner of this page. In the 2009-10 school year, our students took over 2,000 SOL tests and over 1,100 alternative program assessments.
Besides the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) assessment program, SECEP students take part in both the VAAP (Virginia Alternative Assessment Program) and the VGLA (Virginia Grade Level Alternative Assessment Program).
The VGLA alternative to SOL testing is available to students in grade 3 to grade 8. Eligibility for participation is determined on a test specific basis by the student’s IEP committee. VAAP program participation is also based on an IEP committee determination. It permits students and teachers to collect evidence of student understanding of SOL material as an alternative to SOL testing. Students being assessed in VAAP program use that format of assessment in all discipline areas (Reading, Mathematics, History and Social Science, and Science) that are appropriate for their grade level.
Program details can be found by following this link to the Virginia Department of Education: Division of Student Assessment and School Improvement web site: