High school students in Tennessee saw their state test scores rise in 2017, the second year that a new test aligned to the Common Core standards were given in the state.
The increases were modest on average, but sharp for some of the students who have historically struggled most. Just one in five poor students scored at the lowest-level on the ninth-grade English exam, for example, compared to one in three last year.
But in most courses, especially in math, students continued to fall far below the state’s expectations. Even as the state estimates that 11,000 more students met the English proficiency bar this year, two thirds of students still fell below it. And in two advanced math courses, scores actually declined slightly.
The upward trajectory across most subjects puts Tennessee in line with other states that have seen their scores plummet in the first year of new exams, but then rise incrementally afterwards as students and teachers adjust to tougher standards.
Education Commissioner Candice McQueen touted the results Thursday during a brief presentation to the State Board of Education in Nashville.
“These results are encouraging because they show that we’re on the right track,” McQueen said. “As we have moved our standards forward, our teachers and students are meeting those expectations.”
She singled out improvements with historically underserved groups, particularly students with disabilities, and a reduction in the percentage of students performing at the lowest achievement level.
“This positive movement is showing we are taking seriously the work we’re doing with all of our student groups,” McQueen said.
High schoolers scored best on their science exams, which was expected since Tennessee has not yet switched to more rigorous science standards. Those standards will reach classrooms in the fall of 2018.
The statewide scores are the first batch to be released. District- and school-level high school scores come next in August, while results for students in grades 3-8 are due out this fall. Grades 3-8 took TNReady for the first time last school year after their 2016 exams were scuttled amid technical failures.
