Knoxville, TN (WOKI) Students aren’t the only ones headed home with a report card at the end of the fall semester, so are Knox County Schools.
The state Department of Education released their A to F grades for every school in the state Thursday, offering a snapshot at how every school is performing.
While some Knox County schools are doing well, others need some work. Of the 83 schools within KCS, only about half score As or Bs in the evaluation. Twenty-five schools scored Ds or Fs.
- A – 19 schools
- B – 24 schools
- C – 15 schools
- D – 21 schools
- F – 4 schools
Four indicators are included in the calculation:
- Overall success rate for achievement;
- Overall growth;
- Growth for the lowest performing 25% of students in the school; and
- A college and career readiness indicator for high schools.
KCS Superintendent Dr. Jon Rysewyk said letter grades don’t offer a look at the full picture.
“It’s important to remember that these letter grades are not the complete picture of any school,” said Superintendent Dr. Jon Rysewyk. “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.”
Rysewyk also pointed out that TCAP scores showed improvement across the county system, highlighting third-grade reading — last school year marked the beginning of higher standards for third-grade English testing as part of the third-grade retention law — and math.
“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,” he said. “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.”
In its release Thursday, KCS also listed the numerous initiatives it has launched aimed at increasing student achievement and performance in recent months. 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; and
- 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,” said Dr. Keith Wilson, assistant superintendent of academics. “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.”
Please click here to search for the letter grade for a particular Knox County School.
