With Some Gains, Tennessee Schools Still Struggle To Meet Goals Of Tennessee Succeeds

 

NASHVILLE, Tennessee — Education commissioner Candice McQueen on Thursday outlined progress K-12 public schools have made toward meeting the goals of Tennessee Succeeds.

McQueen spoke at the annual joint meeting of the State Board of Education and the Tennessee Higher Education Commission held in downtown Nashville.

The Tennessee Succeeds plan was released by the Tennessee Department of Education in 2015 and includes goals, priorities and strategies on improving student performance.

While the state has made some progress in reaching its four main goals, Tennessee still lags behind in critical areas, especially in literacy. Only 43 percent of Tennessee third graders are proficient in reading.

Here is a summary of the goals and current status:

Goal 1 – Tennessee will rank in the top half of all states on NAEP by 2019.

Tennessee currently ranks in the top half of states for only three of six NAEP tests.

NAEP stands for National Assessment of Educational Progress and is known as the Nation’s Report Card. It measures what students know and can do in various subject areas, including math, reading and science, among other subjects. Begun in 1969, NAEP assessments are given periodically. Tennessee has participated since 1992.

Tennessee has been the fastest-improving state in recent years but in 2015 ranked only 35th in the nation overall.

Goal 2 – Seventy-five percent of Tennessee third graders will be proficient in reading by 2025.

The most recent data show that only 43 percent of Tennessee third graders are proficient in reading.

Goal 3 – The average ACT score in Tennessee will be 21 by 2020.

The average ACT score in Tennessee currently is 19.9 – a record high.

Goal 4 – The majority of high school graduates from the class of 2020 will earn a postsecondary certificate, diploma or degree.

Twenty-nine percent of graduates from the class of 2011 have a certificate, diploma or degree.