MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Several West Tennessee school districts including Shelby County showed improvement in math scores in this year’s TNReady tests, while others scored well in English, according to results from those tests released Thursday morning.
The state highlighted school districts in Shelby County, Fayette County, Tipton County and Bartlett for improved math scores among students in grades 3-8.
Districts in Arlington, Bartlett, Collierville, Germantown and Lakeland were also highlighted by the state for top-10 performance in grade 3 English Language Arts.
In Shelby County Schools, 29 schools earned the highest level of growth score in 2019. Three schools — Dunbar Elementary, Getwell Elementary and Robert R. Church Elementary — exited the state’s Priority List for low-performing scores. SCS said the district has decreased its total number of schools on the Priority List from 69 to 14 this year.
SCS administrator Angela Whitelaw said they are working to decrease chronic absenteeism among some students by identifying them early and making sure they have support from teachers.
SCS Superintendent Joris Ray says he will meet with educational leaders in the district to dig deeper into the data and use it to improve.
“We see this as an area of growth opportunity for us to take Shelby County Schools to the next level,” Ray said. “But we have work to do, and we’re going to roll up our sleeves and make it happen.”
The TNReady scores also show that 56 percent of schools in Tennessee improved their TVAAS scores, which measure year-to-year growth in student achievement, from the previous year.
“(T)he dedication of our educators, commitment to implementing high-quality materials, and unwavering student focus is what sets Tennessee apart and will continue to be the catalyst for moving our state forward,” State Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn said in a statement.
Full data can be found here.
The table below shows On Track/Mastered rates for Shelby County Schools students, comparing 2018 and 2019.
Collierville Schools made the following statement about the results.
Collierville Schools is proud to announce that Collierville High School and all five of our eligible elementary schools—Bailey Station Elementary School, Collierville Elementary School, Crosswind Elementary School, Sycamore Elementary School, and Tara Oaks Elementary School—achieved ‘Reward’ status.
Collierville’s newest school, Schilling Farms Elementary, which opened in August 2018, was not yet eligible for this recognition. Additionally, Collierville Schools earned the designation of ‘Advancing’ for 2019, indicating that the district, as a whole, exceeded performance expectations among most student groups. Collierville Schools students consistently outperformed their grade level peers statewide on all 2019 TNReady assessments.
The statement about TN Ready from Germantown Schools is below.
Germantown Municipal School District is proud of our students, school staff, families and community. This year, Dogwood Elementary, Farmington Elementary, and Houston High School have achieved the “Reward School” designation.
Today, we are celebrating that three schools have been recognized as reward schools and that GMSD earned an overall TVAAS Level 5 (the highest growth score for a district).
“I am thankful for the hard-working educators, families, and students who set high standards. We believe in maintaining student growth as well as high achievement, working to meet the needs of each student and providing the best educational experiences possible,” said Superintendent Jason Manuel.
Millington Municipal School made the following statement.
Millington Municipal Schools acknowledges its Advancing achievement status. We will celebrate our work in Literacy along with our improvements in Chronic Absenteeism. Moving forward, all data available will be utilized to focus on our specific area of need at our individual schools.
