Hamilton County students scored at or above statewide proficiency levels in more than 64 percent of tested areas during the 2021-22 school year according to district-level TCAP results released by the Tennessee Department of Education on Wednesday morning.
Of the 28 content areas tested in grades 3-12, Hamilton County students met or exceeded proficiency scores from the state as a whole in 18 English Language Arts (ELA), Math, Science, and Social Studies categories, officials said.
“There are many positive trends in our district-wide data,” said Hamilton County Schools Superintendent Dr. Justin Robertson. “Our students have shown incredible resilience and are continuing to shine as academic performers across the state.
“While we are still seeing that we are at or above the state in the majority of content areas, we are seeing a smaller gap between our students and the rest of the state. We will continue to analyze and utilize this data, and the school-level information to come, for making the best decisions to support our students’ academic success.
"Two areas of significant gains in the data released today include ELA and Social Studies, where local students posted their highest proficiency levels since the District developed its Future Ready 2023 strategic plan in 2018.
"Students in the sixth and seventh grades saw the greatest increase, with a nearly 10 percent gain in each grade level. Our fourth grade saw 43 percent of students meeting or exceeding expectations in ELA this year – an extension of our third grade FR2023 target to see our students at 50 percent proficiency by the end of 2023.
"Another positive data point was the rebound in fourth and fifth grade Math proficiency, which showed increases to 2018 baseline results after a year of decline. Results show that 44 percent of those students met or exceeded proficiency goals, a level that is six percentage points higher than seen statewide."
Eighth grade Math results were lower than the previous year and the state average. According to HCS Chief Strategy Officer Shannon Moody, this is one of the achievement areas that will receive additional attention and strategic supports as more detailed results are released by the state.
“We are excited to dig into this data to determine how we can continue to best align our curriculum and learning supports to meet the needs of all our students,” Chief Strategy Officer Moody said. “Our goal is to take what we learn from these exciting results to celebrate and strengthen supports for our classroom leaders so that our students will continue to accelerate throughout the 2022-23 school year.”
TCAP Assessment file data from 2018 - 2022 for students in 3rd - 12th grade in tested subjects.