2016 State Report Card

  • Knox County Schools has scored above the state average in academic achievement, according to the Tennessee Department of Education’s 2016 Report Card released today.
     
    The annual report measures each district and school on math, reading, science and social studies. It also posted results from the new TNReady assessments taken in English language arts and math.
     
    This year, the state used a new reporting format that is based on four levels of performance – “mastered,” “on track,” “approaching” and “below.” The scores only include data for high school students because tests were canceled for grades 3-8.
     
    In math, Knox County high school students ranked in the 79th percentile among districts in the state as on track or mastered – a percentile increase of 28 over the 2014-2015 school year. In English, high school students ranked in the 75th percentile among districts in the state as on track or mastered – a percentile increase of 4 over the 2014-2015 school year.
     
    Knox County Schools scored 7 percent above the state average and above other large Tennessee districts. 
     
    In overall value-added results, Knox County Schools achieved a composite Level 5 – the highest level – on the Tennessee Value Added Assessment System (TVAAS), as well as a Level 5 in math (Algebra 1 and Geometry) and U.S. History. Level 4 and 5 means that students tended to grow more in the subject than their peers across the state.
     
    “Tennessee is the fastest improving state in the nation academically, and Knox County Schools scored above the state average in nearly everything,” Interim Superintendent Buzz Thomas said. “That’s good news.
     
    “I’m especially proud of how we’re doing in math. Algebra 1 and Geometry are gateway classes that prepare students for success in life as well as college and career. They teach kids how to think. And I am especially pleased that two of our highest needs high schools – Austin-East and Fulton – had among the highest possible academic growth scores.”
     

    Additional highlights show:

    • A graduation rate of 90.3 percent, a slight increase from the previous year
    • An ACT composite score of 21.1, with 27 percent of graduating students achieving all four College Readiness Benchmarks – up from 24 percent in the 2014-2015 school year
    • 51 percent of students scored a composite of 21 or better making them eligible for the Tennessee HOPE Scholarship
    • Average K-8 attendance rate of 95 percent; average high school attendance rate of 93 percent