Tennessee School Districts Show Sustained Growth on 2013 Statewide Assessments

NASHVILLE—The Tennessee Department of Education is pleased to announce today that student performance on the 2013 Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program showed sustained growth in school districts across the state. 

Scores increased for the majority of districts in nearly every subject. The district-by-district results follow continued improvement at the state level, where students made gains, particularly in STEM subjects. 

“Sustained improvements across the state show that our efforts to raise student outcomes are working,” said Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman. “Our students, teachers, and administrators worked incredibly hard. These results prove that if we continue to maintain high expectations and quality support for our teachers, our students will continue to grow.” 

District proficiency levels revealed major improvements in math skills. Nearly 30 districts across the state saw double-digit gains in Algebra I, some gaining more than 25 percentage points. More than 50 districts saw double-digit gains in Algebra II, some reporting growth over 40 percentage points.

More than 115 districts showed improvement on math scores in grades 3-8.

The majority of districts across the state narrowed the achievement gap between black, Hispanic, and Native American students and their counterparts in the majority of subjects. As seen in state-level data released last month, a majority of districts had growing gaps in achievement between students with disabilities and students without disabilities, as well as between English language learners and their peers. This is an area for improvement at the state level as well as in districts for the 2013-14 school year.

District-by-district TCAP results can be accessed on the education department website  (http://tn.gov/education/tcap/index.shtml#district) where they are posted in sortable spreadsheets. Statewide TCAP results, released last month, are also on the site.

For more information, contact Kelli Gauthier at (615) 532-7817.