State Department of Education releases letter grades for most Tennessee public schools

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Department of Education has released letter grades for each public school in the state.

The TDOE was required to establish a letter-grading system for public schools after it was approved by state legislation in 2016. The implementation of an individual grade for each school was delayed a few years, thanks to testing administration challenges and the impact of COVID-19.

The grades are meant to provide a "snapshot" of how a specific public school is performing, according to TDOE. 

210 schools in the state did not receive a letter grade due to different reasons, including no valid achievement or growth data, only serving students who are 18 or older and defined as adult learners, schools serving only students with special needs and any schools closed before the 2022-23 school year, according to the TDOE. 

Four indicators decide a school's grade calculation:

• The overall success rate for achievement (50% of every school's grade): This is an indicator of how well all the students in a school know the skills required for their grade level as measured by the TCAP test. 
• Student academic growth (40% of elementary and middle school grades; 30% of high school grades): This is an indicator of how well all students in a school are improving, compared to their peers across the state. For example, the TDOE said that if your school starts the year with many students behind grade level in reading and is successful in helping them "catch up," that'll increase the school's academic growth score. It's not clear how they determine if a student has "caught up." 
• Growth in the lowest performing 25% of students in the school (10% of elementary and middle school grades; 10% of high school grades): This is an indicator of the "catch up" of the school's highest need students—those who rank in the school's bottom 25% of students based on TCAP score. 
• A college and career readiness indicator for high schools (10% of high school grades): This is based on how many graduating students succeded on measures like the ACT, college credit exams or opportunities, industry credentials and military readiness. 

Of the 83 schools within Knox County that received letter grades, 52% received grades of A or B.

The letter grades for Knox County schools are below. 

Elementary 

• A.L. Lotts – A
• Amherst – B
• Adrian Burnett – B
• Ball Camp – B
• Bearden  - B
• Beaumont Magnet – B
• Belle Morris – D
• Blue Grass – A
• Bonny Kate – B
• Brickey-McCloud – B
• Carter – C
• Christenberry – B
• Copper Ridge – A
• Corryton – C
• Dogwood – D
• East Knox – D
• Fountain City – C
• Gap Creek – A
• Gibbs Ele. – B
• Green Magnet Math and Science Academy – C
• Halls Ele. – B
• Hardin Valley - A
• Inskip – D
• Karns Ele. – C
• Lonsdale – D
• Maynard – D
• Mooreland Heights – D
• Mt. Olive - A
• Norwood - F
• Northshore – A
• New Hopewell - B
• Pleasant Ridge - D
• Pond Gap - D
• Powell - C
• Ritta - A
• Rocky Hill - B
• Sarah Moore Greene - D
• Sequoyah – A
• Shannondale - A
• South Knox - A
• Spring Hill - D
• Sterchi - B
• Sunnyview – not eligible
• West Haven - C
• West Hills - B
• West View - C

 Middle

• Bearden Middle - C
• Carter Middle -B
• Cedar Bluff Middle - B
• Farragut Middle - A 
• Gibbs Middle- D
• Gresham Middle- D
• Halls Middle - D 
• Hardin Valley - C
• Holston Middle - B
• Karns Middle - A
• Northwest Middle - F
• Powell Middle -B
• South Doyle Middle- B
• Vine Middle - F 
• West Valley Middle: A
• Whittle Springs Middle - B 

High School

• Austin-East HS – F
• Bearden HS – A
• Carter – D
• Career Magnet Academy – B
• Central - C
• Farragut - A
• Fulton HS – D
• Gibbs - D
• Halls - C
• Hardin Valley - B
• Karns - D
• L&N STEM - A
• Powell - C
• South-Doyle - D
• West - B

Here are a few scores from schools outside of Knox County: 

• Maryville High School – B
• Alcoa High School – A
• Oak Ridge High School – A
• Sevier County High School – C
• Loudon High School – C
• Lenoir City High School – C
• Gatlinburg Pittman High School – C
• William Blount High School – B
• Heritage High School – A
• Cumberland County High School – C
• Clinton High School – B
• Anderson County High School – B
• Morristown East – C
• Morristown West - B

You can search for a specific school's letter grade here. 

“It’s important to remember that these letter grades are not the complete picture of any school,” KCS Superintendent Dr. Jon Rysewyk said. “There are many ways of analyzing achievement, and I have seen firsthand that every school in our district has outstanding educators and talented students who are doing amazing work. It’s also important to keep in mind that last year alone, KCS increased student achievement in all tested subject areas, and made historic improvements in third-grade reading, while seeing math scores rebound to pre-COVID-19 achievement levels. These gains not only speak to the hard work and dedication of our students and families, they are proof that – together – we are making progress.”

Tennessee Democratic leaders said the grades idea was "flawed."

"What these letter grades do show is the consequences of bottom 10 in the nation student funding and a failure by the state to move resources to the students who need them most," a statement from Raumesh Akbari, state Senate minority leader, reads.

"Instead of weaponizing these grades, I hope lawmakers will come together around policies that nourish every child's learning potential and strengthen the community around these students."

Knox County Schools said it has launched several initiatives aimed at increasing student achievement and performance recently. These include:

• Hiring more than 200 tutors to provide instructional support
• Leveraging the regional support model to provide additional classroom support
• Investing $10.7 million in new, high-quality instructional material for K-12 math
• Enrolling more than 6,500 students in summer programming, as part of an effort to close learning gaps
• Creating a strategic plan for Region 5 to address challenges in schools that have faced persistent gaps in achievement
• Launching the KCS Way for special education, to identify service improvements and policy changes to support students who qualify for special education supports.

“Our district is focused on accelerating learning, and KCS educators, staff, and community partners are united around that goal,” KCS Assistant Superintendent of Academic Dr. Keith Wilson said. “We will continue to pursue innovative strategies that put student achievement at the center of our work, and we believe this strategy is already producing results.”