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The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –
Last week, the Tennessee Department of Education released their annual list detailing the best and worst schools and districts across the state.
The ten poorest performing districts, whose overall scores fell into the bottom 5% of all districts for the 2023-2024 school year, are:
• Decatur County Schools
• Hancock County Schools
• Hardeman County Schools
• Humboldt City Schools
• Johnson County Schools
• Lawrence County Schools
• Lewis County Schools
• Perry County Schools
• Sequatchie County Schools
• Tennessee Schools for the Deaf
These districts all received an “in need of improvement” status but only one district also had a school on the Comprehensive Support & Improvement (CSI) list, also known as “Priority Schools.” Humboldt Junior & Senior High School in the Humboldt City Schools District received that dubious distinction.
CSI/Priority schools are put on the list when they wind up in the bottom 5% on student performance according to test scores or when graduation rates drop to under 67%. More than half of the schools on the list are either in the Memphis-Shelby County Schools District, or the Metro-Nashville Public Schools District.
Of the ninety-two schools currently on the list, eighteen have failed to meet any of the exit criteria that would take them off the list for three years in a row.
Eight of these consistently poorly performing schools are in the Memphis-Shelby County School District:
• Alcy Elementary School
• Chickasaw Middle School
• Frayser-Corning Elementary School
• Hamilton School
• Hanley K8
• Kingsbury Middle School
• Larose Elementary School
• Sheffield High School
• Woodstock Middle School
A ninth Shelby County school on the list, Martin Luther King Preparatory High School, closed last year after ten years of being included in the Achievement School District (ASD).
In January, a state director hired to run the ASD was dismissed after just five months into the role prompting lawmakers to reconsider the program.
Tennessee has spent more than a $1 billion in an effort to turn around the academically struggling schools, mostly in Memphis, with little to show for it.
The other half of the CSI/Priority schools are:
• East Jr. High School in Fayette County
• Orchard Knob Elementary School in Hamilton County
• Orchard Knob Middle School in Hamilton County
• Austin-East Magnet High School in Knox County
• Maynard Elementary School in Knox County
• Vine Middle Magnet School in Knox County
• E. A. Cox Middle School in Maury County
• Virtual Academy in Maury County
• Gary Hardin Academy in Sevier County.
The top ten districts, earning an “exemplary” status, are:
• Alcoa City Schools
• Arlington Community Schools
• Bells City Schools
• Clinton City Schools
• Collierville Schools
• Dayton City Schools
• Jackson County Schools
• Lebanon Special School District
• Milan Special School District
• Van Buren County Schools
In order to be considered for exemplary status, the district must have an overall district performance score of 3.1 or higher out of a total 4 points.
Individual schools in the state can receive one of four designations – Reward Schools, CSI/Priority Schools, Targeted Support and Improvement Schools, and Additional Targeted Support and Improvement Schools – with Reward Schools being the best.
For the 2023-2024 school year, a total of 377 schools across 97 districts earned this status. The 2022-2023 school year saw 400 schools named as reward schools. Schools earn this status if they met specific goals to improve their test scores, if they achieved high levels of student performance, or both.
Of the “exemplary” districts, Alcoa City Schools had two reward schools on the list: Alcoa High School and Alcoa Intermediate School.
Arlington Community Schools had three: Arlington Elementary School, Arlington High School, and Donelson Elementary School.
Bells Elementary School in Bells City Schools District made the list.
Clinton City Schools also had three reward schools: Clinton Elementary School, North Clinton Elementary School, and South Clinton Elementary School.
Collierville Schools had nine schools make the list: Bailey Station Elementary School, Collierville Elementary School, Collierville High School, Schilling Farms Elementary School, Sycamore Elementary School, Tara Oaks Elementary School, and West Collierville Middle School.
Dayton Elementary School in Dayton City Schools District also made the list.
Jackson County Schools had two reward schools: Dodson Branch Elementary School and Gainesboro Elementary School.
Lebanon Special School District had three: Byars Dowdy Elementary School, Castle Heights Elementary School, and Coles Ferry Elementary School.
Milan Special School District had two schools, Milan Elementary School and Milan High School.
And Van Buren County Schools also had two: Spencer Elementary School and Van Buren County High School.
To see all of the lists of 2023-2024 district and school statuses, visit the state’s website.
About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
One Response
And to think, that Governor Bill’s latest version of his ‘educational freedom act’ will only serve 2% of our student population! That is the REAL CRIME being perpetrated here! I’ve written both my state rep and state senator, begging them not to get sucked in by this giant welfare program which actually INCENTIVIZES schools to perform poorly by paying them to ‘lose’ students, rather than holding them accountable for teaching our future. But, further, will most definitely, bring future state regulations from the Tn. Dept of Ed bureaucrats to all private and home schooler’s who accept this state government handout at the expense of taxpayers! It is a poorly thought out bill using BRIBERY and SHAMEFUL political tactics…we should all be shaming our governor and his co-horts in the legislature for calling themselves ‘conservative’ when this is nothing more than a leftist, liberal scheme!