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Tennessee college students held their floor on a serious nationwide take a look at in a yr when common scholar take a look at scores declined nationwide.
Outcomes from the 2024 Nationwide Evaluation of Academic Progress, or NAEP, launched Wednesday, present that common take a look at scores in Tennessee elevated barely in fourth and eighth grade studying and math, in contrast with 2022, although the positive aspects weren’t statistically important.
Tennessee’s newest post-pandemic outcomes stood in distinction to declines seen nationwide and in lots of different states. And Tennessee college students scored three to 4 factors greater than the nationwide common in math and one to 2 factors greater in studying.
“Tennessee college students did nicely relative to different states, and we did higher than a few of our neighbors,” Training Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds mentioned.
“We didn’t transfer backwards, we moved slightly bit ahead, and we anticipate to do higher subsequent yr,” added state Rep. Mark White, of Memphis, who chairs a key Home schooling committee and likewise serves on the NAEP governing board.
Math scores outpace studying scores
Tennessee has launched quite a few initiatives aimed toward bolstering early literacy, however the newest NAEP confirmed the state’s most dramatic enhancements got here in math.
In fourth grade math, 42% of scholars scored proficient or superior, a rise of 6 proportion factors from 2022. The state was one in all 29 jurisdictions that posted scores much like 2019, earlier than the pandemic. Solely Alabama had common scores greater than 2019. Nationwide, common scores are down three factors, and 22 states had declines.
In eighth grade math, Tennessee’s proficiency price additionally grew, whereas the nationwide common declined. Tennessee was one in all simply two jurisdictions with related scores to 2019. Common scores dropped 9 factors.
In fourth grade studying, Tennessee was one in all 47 states with no statistical change from 2022. Nonetheless, its scores have been up barely, whereas the nationwide common dropped by two factors from 2022 and by 5 factors from 2019.
The small will increase in eighth grade studying scores weren’t statistically totally different from 2022 or 2019, however once more, the small enhance stood in distinction to nationwide averages that dropped 5 factors since 2019. Tennessee additionally noticed extra notable will increase in scores amongst higher-performing college students within the seventy fifth percentile.
The comparatively robust exhibiting in math, in response to state officers, may very well be tied to the complete return to in-person studying, which research present is particularly necessary for math instruction; Tennessee’s 2021 adoption of latest math requirements; and the following rollout of math curriculum to align with these requirements.
They anticipate that pattern to proceed with passage of a 2024 state regulation spotlighting extra evaluation of and assist for math instruction.
Tennessee was an early adopter of pandemic-era interventions
Tennessee has been held up as a mannequin each for the way it managed federal pandemic reduction spending — shortly steering cash into tutoring, summer season studying camps, and afterschool applications aimed toward college students who had fallen furthest behind — and for its intense give attention to early literacy. State take a look at outcomes from 2024 present college students there making regular progress since 2021.
The problem now will probably be to keep up progress and deploy state funds to interchange federal pandemic reduction support that expired final yr.
“We nonetheless have that obligation on the state stage to proceed to assist districts in as some ways as potential,” mentioned Reynolds, the state’s schooling chief. She cited free skilled growth assets supplied to high school programs by her division as one instance.
“Native college officers additionally knew that the cash was ending, so that they’ve been constructing in their very own sustainability practices to maintain the work going,” she mentioned.
White, the state lawmaker and NAEP official, mentioned the state’s controversial 2021 third-grade studying intervention and retention regulation was a key a part of the combination. It pushed kids whose households might need opted for summer season breaks into summer season studying applications and motivated faculties to extend assist for struggling readers.
“If a baby shouldn’t be studying proficiently in third grade, we wish to actually perceive why and never simply cross them on,” he mentioned.
State officers already are digging into the most recent NAEP knowledge on how varied scholar teams carried out — to check how they will provide higher assist.
Tennessee’s rising inhabitants of English language learners noticed across-the-board enchancment, whereas college students with disabilities confirmed slight decreases.
The nationwide outcomes monitor with take a look at rating traits from the Tennessee Complete Evaluation Program, which in 2024 confirmed that college students continued to enhance from post-pandemic lows.
The alignment of nationwide and state knowledge is necessary, mentioned Amy Owen, the state’s senior schooling coverage director, as a result of “it exhibits that our college students will have the ability to compete with college students from throughout the nation once they have a look at post-secondary and profession alternatives.”
“We’re seeing regular will increase, which is critical when you consider the place our youngsters have been throughout COVID,” added Reynolds. “Our fourth graders have been kindergartners then, our eighth graders have been fourth graders.”
Memphis district opts out of separate NAEP evaluation
Since 2018, NAEP has additionally launched outcomes for Memphis Shelby County Colleges, one in all roughly two dozen giant city districts collaborating in nationwide math and studying assessments by the Trial City District Evaluation program, which is designed to assist these districts measure scholar efficiency towards districts in different giant cities.
However final yr, leaders of the Memphis district selected to not take part in this system.
White, who represents a part of Memphis, mentioned the dearth of participation represented a “management breakdown” because the district cycled by superintendents.
“That’s unhappy that we don’t have their scores,” he mentioned. “We are able to’t proceed that pattern.”
What’s NAEP?
Not each Tennessee fourth-grader or eighth-grader took the nationwide take a look at when the federal authorities administered the assessments in early 2024.
NAEP assessments a nationally consultant pattern of scholars in each state. In Tennessee, every of the 4 assessments was taken by about 1,700-1,800 college students in 80-90 faculties.
The outcomes, printed because the nation’s report card, enable comparisons throughout states and are an necessary marker for exhibiting how college students are doing over time.
The final three testing cycles occurred in 2019, 2022, and most not too long ago in 2024, offering an particularly useful comparability of what college students knew earlier than the pandemic and the way a lot they’ve rebounded from COVID-related studying disruptions.
Erica Meltzer is Chalkbeat’s nationwide editor based mostly in Colorado. Contact Erica at emeltzer@chalkbeat.org.
Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.