High school students statewide post slight gains on TNReady

Students complete worksheets in an economics class at Hamilton County High School on Thursday, March 2, 2017, in Harrison, Tenn. The school gives students who have dropped out of school the opportunity to complete their high school diplomas.
Students complete worksheets in an economics class at Hamilton County High School on Thursday, March 2, 2017, in Harrison, Tenn. The school gives students who have dropped out of school the opportunity to complete their high school diplomas.

By the numbers:

Number of students meeting grade-level expectations on TNReady in 2017, 2016: English I: 29.5 percent, 27.5 percent English II: 39.2 percent, 35.8 percent English III: 34.3 percent, 27.4 percent Algebra I: 15.2 percent, 14.1 percent Algebra II: 23.5 percent, 24 percent Geometry: 25.8 percent, 24.1 percent Biology I: 59.3 percent, 56.5 percent Chemistry: 41.2 percent, 39.7 percent U.S. History/Geography: 30.9 percent, 29.9 percent Integrated Math I: 18.2 percent, 17.5 percent Integrated Math II: 21.8 percent, 23.5 percent Integrated Math III: 18.2 percent, 17.5 percent Source: Tennessee Department of Education

Tennessee's high schoolers made slight gains compared to last year in all tested subjects, but most students are still not meeting grade-level expectations.

The Tennessee Department of Education released statewide test scores Thursday for the 2016-2017 school year, revealing that thousands of additional students are meeting course expectations compared to last year and a smaller percentage of students are scoring in the lowest achievement level.

"This growth is encouraging, and it shows our students are capable of reaching the high bar we've set with our expectations in Tennessee," state Education Commission Candice McQueen said Thursday morning.

High school students took TNReady, the state's new and more strenuous standardized assessment for English and math, for the first time during the 2015-2016 school year. Scores plummeted statewide - nearly 75 percent of students tested below grade level - but that was expected, the state said, because the test results set a new baseline.

The state expected scores to increase this year, and the slight bump in the number of students meeting grade-level expectations in all subjects - math, English, science and history - was hailed as a success.

But despite the solid results, McQueen said there is room for improvement.

"We want to ensure that every single student is college and career ready and they graduate with options, they graduate with choices," she said. "And we believe while these standards are getting strong results, we have to continue to go deep with alignment in our classrooms to make sure every student is ready."

This year's TNReady scores show 34.3 percent of students are on grade level in English, up from 30.3 percent last year. In math, 21.5 percent of students are on grade level, slightly up from 20.8 percent.

Students will take the new TNReady science test for the first time during the 2018-2019 school year, but they still posted gains from 48.8 percent proficient last year to 51 percent this year. Scores are expected to drop when students start taking the more difficult test.

And in U.S. history, 30.8 percent of students were proficient, compared to 29.9 percent last year.

Other highlights of the statewide data show that students with disabilities, English learners, students living in poverty and minority students posted gains on the English tests this year. The percentage of students with disabilities testing in the lowest-achievement level also decreased in every subject area, narrowing the achievement gap with their peers without disabilities.

McQueen said the state will continue to focus on increasing equity, aligning instruction to the state's new standards and ensuring that all students are on pathways to success.

Teresa Wasson, director of communications for the State Collaborative on Reforming Education, said TNReady scores have more value than measuring what happened last year.

"We're seeing academic gains because Tennessee teachers analyzed the results from the first year of TNReady to find opportunities to change lessons for the following school year so more students could develop real understanding of the subject," Wasson said in a statement. "Teachers want to teach, and students want to learn. The latest TNReady results will support them in doing just that in the upcoming school year."

The release of statewide high school results starts the cascade of TNReady data that is expected in coming months.

District-level high school test scores are expected to be released in the next couple of weeks, and TNReady scores for students in grades 3-8 will be released later this fall.

The state's testing debacle during the 2015-2016 school year led to the cancellation of TNReady testing for grades 3-8. So this spring was the first time students in these grades took the new test, and the results will create a new baseline and can't be compared to previous years.

TNReady scores were supposed to count for 10 percent of a students' final grade this past school year, but for the second year in a row, Hamilton County did not get the raw scores back in time to include them in final report cards.

But the new TNReady score reports will provide parents, educators and students with more detailed information about individual student achievement and growth. The reports also show how individual students are progressing and compare to their classmates and students across the state.

The report and TNReady results also use new descriptors for student performance - mastered, on track, approaching, or below - indicating if a student has the expected understanding and skills expected of a student in that grade or course.

TNReady is aligned to the state's more rigorous academic standards and is intended to capture students' critical thinking and problem solving skills. TNReady replaces TCAP, which was a multiple-choice-format test.

TNReady is supposed to be more aligned to the scoring of the national ACT exam, which measures college readiness.

Contact staff writer Kendi A. Rainwater at krainwater@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6592. Follow her on Twitter @kendi_and.

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