Student achievement scores continue to rise for the fifth consecutive year as Hamilton County Schools improved its performance on the 2005 Report Card, which was released today from the Tennessee Department of Education, Supt. Jesse Register said at a morning press conference.

“Student achievement is rising in Hamilton County as our students continue to perform well on state and federal accountability tests,” said Dr. Register. “While we still have areas for improvement, the school system has made steady, consistent progress academically for five consecutive years.”

The 2005 Report Card is based on performance data derived from the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) assessments and high school Gateway exams in English, algebra and biology. The report also contains information about student demographics, attendance, promotion, graduation, dropout rates, achievement scores, writing assessments, ACT results and performance on meeting the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) standards.

Among the key findings in the 2005 Report Card are:

- The Value-Added scores for grades K-8 show strong academic growth in all subject areas; Hardy Elementary is among the top performers in the state on Value-Added scores.
- In grades K-8, Hamilton County Schools improved one letter grade in Math and Science while remaining the same in Reading/Language Arts and Social Studies.
- In grades K-8, the number of students found to be proficient or advanced in Math and Reading/Language Plus Writing improved overall and in all ethnic and socioeconomic subgroups except for Asian/Pacific Islander.
- The school system continued to excel in writing with test scores for all grade levels scoring at or above the state average.
- The graduation and attendance rates slightly increased while the Cohort dropout rate increased after declining last year.
- Improved NCLB performance with more subgroups meeting Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP).

”The performance of our schools is a top concern among parents, the community and the Board of Education,” said School Board Chairman Chip Baker. “This is the fifth consecutive year our schools have made steady improvements on the Report Card, and the credit should be given to our teachers and school leadership teams for their efforts in keeping progress going in the right direction.”

Each year, the Report Card includes Value-Added scores as a measurement of student progress within a grade and subject. This information demonstrates the influence a school has on student performance by measuring the academic growth made from one year to the next, it was stated.

With the averaged growth for the state represented by a grade of C, Hamilton County Schools:

- Met or exceeded the state growth standard in every subject area in grades K-8 in 2004-05.
- Scored an A in Math, Science and Social Studies with a B in Reading/Language Arts.
- Scored at or above the set target in nine of the 11 results reported for high school students.

Hardy Elementary, one of the nine Benwood Schools, continues to make significant progress academically by achieving some of the largest growth in academic scores among all schools in Tennessee, Dr. Register said.

“The Benwood Initiative has helped our school build strong instructional leadership teams that are focused on enhancing student learning within urban schools,” said Natalie Elder, principal at Hardy Elementary. “These teachers have played a critical role in raising our test scores and will continue to have a positive impact on student performance into the future.”

In all, Hamilton County has 16 schools that earned straight A’s in Value-Added scores.

The 2005 Report Card shows that the number of students in Hamilton County who passed the test in Reading/Language Arts increased from 86 percent to 90 percent, and the number of students who passed the test in Math increased from 82 percent to 86 percent. African American students made some of the strongest improvements with an increase of 9 percent in Reading/Language Arts and 10 percent in Math.

Economically disadvantaged students also made steady improvements in passing the test with a 7 percent increase in Reading/Language Arts while the proficiency score in Math increased by 11 percent, it was stated. This subgroup is approximately 52 percent of the total number of students enrolled in Hamilton County Schools.

“While we continue to see higher test scores and other academic improvements as a result of the Carnegie Initiative, we must stay committed to high school reform efforts to ensure this progress continues,” said Dr. Register.

The Report Card on Hamilton County Schools and the individual schools within the district can be viewed online at www.tennessee.gov/education.