Rutherford County Schools (RCS) get high marks in rankings released by the Tennessee Department of Education. RCS and Franklin Special School District are the only two in middle Tennessee on the list of those achieving “exemplary” status—meaning they met targets during the 2011-2012 school year.
The rankings are the first since the state’s new accountability system under a waiver from No Child Left Behind standards. 21 school districts achieved the highest ranking of Exemplary. That means those systems met three requirements, according to TDOE:
- Raised proficiency levels on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program tests;
- Made substantial progress in closing gaps between groups of students;
- Ensured improvement for racial minorities, as well as students with disabilities, limited English proficiency and those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) was not on the list released today by the state.
But MNPS officials last week stated the district has moved up to “intermediate” status after being under warning by the state in the last few years. That was due, in large part, to the student performance on this year’s TCAPs (Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program).
“To fall into the intermediate category, you have to show growth in the majority of your goals and all of your sub-population sub-groups also have to show improvement,” says Dr. Jesse Register, MNPS director of schools.
Watch the video (right) to hear more from Dr. Register about MNPS performance on state assessment and under the new accountability system.
Elsewhere in the area, four school systems are listed as failing to meet learning goals for some groups of students. They are Cheatham county Schools, Wilson County Schools, Lebanon City Schools and Murfreesboro City Schools. These districts are among those in the state labeled as In Need of Improvement. They will meet in-person with TDOE officials to set an aggressive, effective plan to meet the goals they missed in 20011-2012.