Do grades accurately reflect Knox County Schools? Here's what the superintendent says
Knox County Schools administrators are staying the course and trusting the process they set to make progress after the new Tennessee school letter grade scores were released late last month.
Knox County grades issued by the Tennessee Department of Education ran the gamut. Nineteen schools scored an A, and four received an F. All others scored a B, C or D.
When Jon Rysewyk took over as Knox County Schools superintendent two years ago, he announced four core priorities and reorganized the district into five geographical regions. He and his staff created a path forward for improving the lowest-performing schools in Region 5, which includes three of the schools rated F.
"We're focusing on our four priorities," Ryseywk told Knox News. "We're focusing on foundational skills."
Principals in the coming days will tell families about each school's grade concerns, Rysewyk said.
"There's so much more in that story than a letter grade," he said, expressing frustration that many so factors can't accurately be summed up by one grade.
"There's a lot of noise out there," he said, adding that what he's trying to do as superintendent is keep teachers and principals focused on the four priorities.
Many priorities are the same for schools that received As and those that received a lower grade, he said.
"We celebrate all of our teachers in all of our schools," he said. "We're happy and proud and I think everybody is staying focused."
Rysewyk reminded families before the grades were released of the gains schools have made this past year. For instance, the district increased its third-grade proficiency rates on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program and decreased the percentage of third graders performing below 40th percentile on the Aimsweb assessment.
How did Knox County Schools perform?
Ten district schools were ineligible for a letter grade. For example, some public school programs geared toward adult learners were not be given letter grades, a Tennessee Department of Education spokesperson said.
Of the remaining 83, here is a breakdown:
Nineteen Knox County Schools received an A grade A.L. Lotts Elementary, Bearden High, Blue Grass Elementary, Copper Ridge Elementary, Farragut High, Farragut Intermediate, Farragut Middle, Gap Creek Elementary, Hardin Valley Elementary, Karns Middle, KCS Virtual Middle, L&N STEM Academy, Mount Olive Elementary, Northshore Elementary, Ritta Elementary, Sequoyah Elementary, Shannondale Elementary, South Knox Elementary and West Valley Middle School.
Four schools received an F: Austin-East Magnet High School, Norwood Elementary, Northwest Middle School and Vine Middle Magnet School. On the 1-5 scale used for grading, Austin-East scored 1.4. The other three each scored 1.2.
Twenty-four schools received a B.
Fifteen schools received a C.
Twenty-one schools received a D.
No schools were given an A in Region 5, which the district wants to improve. Knox County Schools administrators rolled out big changes and specific goals this year for the Region 5 cluster of schools in downtown and adjacent communities of East Knoxville, Lonsdale, Old North Knoxville and Whittle Springs.
The grades came out just a few days after the state released ACT testing results data. Knox County Schools' participation rate for the college entrance exam was a perfect 100%, up from 99% in the 2021-22 school year.
How were the grades measured?
The grades for schools are a product of student scores on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Tests, as well as students' academic growth from the year prior and how much the school's lowest-performing students grew academically in the past year.
For high schools, the grades also take into account college and career readiness.
Tennessee isn't the only state using a letter grade system. A Tennessee Department of Education official cited Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Texas as states that assign schools grades.
How can community members help?
Community members can work to improve schools by volunteering as guest speakers, partnering with the district's 865 Academies initiative for career readiness, working with schools' tutoring programs or taking jobs as teaching assistants, which are in demand, Rysewyk said.
Areena Arora, data and investigative reporter for Knox News, can be reached by email at areena.arora@knoxnews.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @AreenaArora.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Knox County Schools grades: What administrators think
