MSCS gets top growth score on state tests, acknowledges room for further improvement

For the second year in a row, Memphis-Shelby County Schools has earned the highest possible marks on the Tennessee Department of Education’s evaluation that focuses on academic growth. And as MSCS leaders discussed the results, the consensus was clear: there is reason to celebrate, but also room for improvement.

“This is a great start. But I want to encourage each and every one of us to keep pushing,” said MSCS School Board member Frank Johnson, during a virtual meeting with members of the media Wednesday. “We have a lot of work to do… this is just the tip of the iceberg.”

On Aug. 23, TDOE released the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System results for the 2022-23 school year. TVAAS looks at state assessment outcomes, but rather than focus on student proficiency, it focuses on the academic growth of students from year to year. And, when all grades and subjects were taken into account, MSCS students made significantly more improvements than expected ― which brought the district a level five composite score.

Prior to last year, MSCS hadn’t earned a level five composite score since the 2014-15 school year.

In addition to the overall composite score, it also earned a level five distinction in literacy and science, as well as a variety of end-of-course high school subjects. While the lowest score is a one, a five is the best score available. And the results show, MSCS officials maintained, that the district is moving more students towards proficiency rates.

'A lot of work to do'

They also detailed the TVAAS results the district saw on a school-by-school basis, showcasing the principal of Cordova Middle School ― who helped bring its rating from level one last year to level five this year. His school wasn’t the only one to take big strides, either, as Ridgeway High School and University Middle School also leaped from one to five.

Overall, nearly 60% of schools received a designation of three or higher, and 69 schools earned level five distinctions. Last year, however, 75 MSCS-led schools received a level five. When The Commercial Appeal asked about this decrease during the meeting, Angela Whitelaw, Deputy Superintendent of Schools and Academic Support, reiterated that there is still room for growth.

The shift from 75 to 69, she explained, could have stemmed, in part, from results on statewide test scores in math and numeracy ― the ability to understand and work with numbers.

“We have a lot of work to do around numeracy. We have a lot of work to do around math,” she said. “When we look at a composite score, we're looking at all four subjects. And in a lot of our schools, we just did not move in numeracy.”

More movement could come next year, though, with the district overhauling its math offerings. As Whitelaw said: “We're implementing a new curriculum, a new textbook, in every grade level, in every subject, in mathematics.”

'Everybody's business'

The TVAAS results come roughly a month after the release of the district’s Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program results, which pointed to some of the same improvements detailed on Wednesday.

When compared to 2022, the percentage of 3rd-to-12th-grade students who met or exceeded expectations in 2023 increased in 10 out of 11 categories. Students showed improvement in math and science across every grade level, and the English Language Arts proficiency rate ― which already surpassed pre-pandemic levels in 2022 ― increased again.

More: MSCS marks the start of a new school year, with literacy rates, infrastructure a focus

Still, the results remained behind state averages, and the rate of third graders reading proficiently, though improving, stood at 23.6%.

“We acknowledge the need for continued growth, especially in third and fourth grades,” Whitelaw said.

Literacy is an area the district is heavily focused on, as around 1,400 fourth graders are currently receiving small-group literacy instruction during the school day, and more than 2,900 teachers are engaged in professional development that could bolster their understanding of evidence-based literacy practices and the science of reading research.

“Reading is everybody's business,” said MSCS School Board member Mauricio Calvo. “This is not just one principal, one teacher, or nine schools and nine, nine principles. We all have to get involved… It’s really going to take the entire community to ensure that every single child is reading at grade level.”

John Klyce covers education and children's issues for The Commercial Appeal. You can reach him at [email protected]

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: MSCS gets top growth score on TN tests, says there's ways to improve