Tennessee’s recently released ACT and TNReady EOC (End of Course) scores for grades 9-12 show Hamilton County Schools are making strides across the board.
As student achievement increased across the state, the same happened here in Hamilton County. The district posted increased achievement rankings in the released preliminary results. This is particularly significant given the new TNReady test, now in its second year, is far more rigorous than the test given in years’ past. The new test more closely aligns to national tests to ensure more students graduate ready for college and career.
HCDE Superintendent Dr. Bryan Johnson said while he is pleased with the initial signs of improvement, he knows the district must work to discover new ways to address the areas of concern. “We are excited that our grades 9-12 data indicates we are moving in an upward direction and beginning to outpace districts that outperformed us in previous years. We also recognize that we still trail state averages in most subject areas and have work to do, but are encouraged that the performance gap between the district and state is beginning to close.”
EOC English and math scores increased for 2017, when compared with 2016. “There was a strong focus on literacy and teacher support, which proved beneficial,” said Chief of Opportunity Schools Jill Levine.
HCDE numbers at a glance:
- HCDE students with “college ready” ACT composite scores of 21 or higher increased to 40.1%, compared with 36.6% in 2016.
- Fourteen of HCDE’s 19 high schools saw greater gains in ACT composite scores this year, when compared with the school year ending in 2016.
- HCDE student gains outpaced the state in mathematics. HCDE’s ranking in the state compared to other districts increased by 14.3 percentage points.
- Nearly one-third of all HCDE students in grades 9-12 are considered to be ‘on-track’ or ‘mastered’ in English. This is an improvement of approximately 2.7 percentage points.