MEMPHIS — The Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) has released the 2015 Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) results for districts and individual schools, as well as the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS) data for growth.
Shelby County Schools (SCS) remains a TVAAS Level 5 District, the highest level of growth awarded. Ninety-three Shelby County schools individually achieved TVAAS Level 4 or 5 status, with 13 moving from TVAAS Level 1 to Level 5.
Twelve Priority Schools (identified in 2014 as being among the lowest performers in the state) also achieved TVAAS Level 4 or 5.
In 2015, SCS improved in nine of 10 tested subject areas, with two-thirds of all schools improving on their 2014 performances. Those successes include outpacing the state in math grades 3-8, Algebra I and Algebra II.
Thirteen of the 17 SCS-operated iZone schools improved over the previous year, with proficiency gains in nine of 10 subject areas, including mathematics and science.
“Given our starting point, I’m extremely proud of our students’ and staff’s hard work, but we all recognize that we cannot stop here,” superintendent Dorsey Hopson said. “We are working diligently to increase the level of rigor, which will help us achieve the goals of Destination 2025, our strategic plan.”
Destination 2025 calls for 80 percent of students to be college- and career-ready, 90 percent of those students to graduate on time, and all to enroll in a post-secondary educational opportunity by 2025.
The district had a slight dip in reading scores, which is in alignment with the state’s scores.
Literacy is the number one priority area of Destination 2025, and an aggressive push is already underway to improve literacy teaching and learning, including intense summer training for educators and the development of community partnerships.
“Our enrollment for summer professional development has doubled from last year because our teachers know that reading is the foundation of all student learning,” Hopson said. “We are all committed to ensuring that our students are prepared for college and careers.”
For more information, see tn.gov/education/topic/tcap-results-at-a-glance.
