KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — The scores are in and there’s some good news for school districts across East Tennessee.
The Tennessee Department of Education released the 2021-22 Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program or TCAP district-level results. These results include both Fall 2021 end-of-course exams as well as Spring 2022 exams in English Language Arts (ELA), math, science and social studies.
Overall, many of our school’s scores have improved or are performing at a level similar to pre-pandemic years.
East Tennessee school systems are getting the first look at their results from TCAP testing for the 2021-2022 school year.
Knox County Schools saw the largest improvement in English Language Arts and math.
Knox County Schools Superintendent Dr. Jon Rysewyk said, “We’re seeing a lot of improvement in the areas of English Language Arts, we saw all elementary, middle and high go up across the board there.”
Rysewyk added, “Math we’re seeing improvement there as well in all grades but were not quite back to where we were prior to the pandemic and the effects of that.”
However, in some grade levels, science and U.S. History numbers were unchanged or decreased.
Rysewyk said, “Now through summer learning camps and through things like extra tutoring that’s starting to take effect and have an effect on student outcomes and making those a lot better.”
In Anderson County, Schools District Coordinator Andrea Russell said they also had improvements in ELA and math despite a troubling first half of the year,
“We had a lot of attendance issues early on. The second semester wasn’t as bad, but we were pleased that we improved on everything.”
However, they aren’t quite back to pre-pandemic level scores.
Russell explained, “While I tell you we’ve improved from last year and we did, we are still not where we want to be. If I tell you, we want to go up in everything.”
Both school systems say they have plans in place to continue to see all of these numbers continue to grow.
Rysewyk said, “I would say overall we’re encouraged over the improvement.”
Russell added that their school system believes that tests don’t define kids but are used as a tool to help them grow. “Sitting with those students and making obtainable goals with them is very helpful.”
Overall statewide participation rates increased from 95% in 2021 to 98% in 2022.
Russell said students, and their families, will be able to see their individual scores through the state’s student portal in late August.
To view individual district scores, click here.
Anderson County Schools put together a tutorial on how to log in to a student’s state portal. To view that video, click here.
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