Bartlett City Schools and the Lakeland School System did not receive results from the TNReady tests by a May 22 deadline, so those test scores will not be counted in the final report cards of those districts’ students. Districts can opt out of using the scores if they haven’t gotten them within five days of the end of the school year.
Arlington Community Schools received its TNReady scores at 7:35 a.m. this morning (May 25), so central office staff and teachers are currently hard at work to include them in students’ final report cards.
Last year, the testing materials also were not ready in time for many districts. This year, the test materials arrived on time but scores are still pending in many locations.
Families will be able to see the scores when they return, even though they will not be a factor in students’ report cards. Districts also may still use the scores for teacher evaluations and school/district accountability.
As of Thursday morning, May 25, the TNReady results still had not yet been received for Bartlett or Lakeland students, and the districts had not received estimates of when the test scores will be available.
Shelby County Schools district, which includes Bolton High School (part of this newspaper’s coverage area), has not yet received its TNReady results either; those test scores will not be counted in students’ final report cards.
TNReady is the state’s assessments (standardized tests) in math, English language arts, social studies, and science.
The Tennessee Department of Education has advised that districts could receive results on different timelines. For districts that don’t receive scores within five days of the end of the school year, state law gives three options: Including scores in final grades for all students, incorporating scores within some grades or courses but not others, or excluding scores altogether. Districts also can decide whether to hold report cards in order to include raw score data from TNReady testing or to release the report cards.
CAROLYN BAHM is the editor of The Bartlett Express. Contact her at (901) 433-9138 or via email to carolyn.bahm@journalinc.com.
