One year into Knox County Schools’ intensive Region 5 program to raise underperforming schools, administrators are celebrating some successes and zeroing in on areas where it has so far failed to meet its own expectations.
Nearly 6,100 students in the district’s 13 schools that make up Region 5 have historically dealt with socioeconomic challenges resulting in high chronic absenteeism, low academic scores and high teacher turnover.
Administrator Dexter Murphy was charged with improving academic success and outcomes for students.
Murphy and district leaders emphasized one simple message in the first year of the program: setting high expectations for students. They layered on the challenge of ensuring needed supports are in place to help them get there.
“What we saw was, yes, we want high expectations, but we saw a gap between what we’re providing them to make sure that they’re meeting these high expectations,” Murphy said.
One goal has been met. The district has managed to staff Region 5 schools nearly completely, Murphy said.
Now school leaders are working to raise the bar significantly on test scores.
Knox County Board of Education representative John Butler, who represents several schools in the region, supports the plan but said it remains to be seen whether it is working as intended.
“It’s too soon to say if the plan is successful yet,” Butler said. “I feel optimistic about the plan we have. We’re seeing progress but quite frankly we’re not where we need to be.”
Achievement scores are stagnant or worsening
Overall, students improved over baseline 2022-23 scores on the targets it has set.
For Region 5 third graders’ test scores at the end of the 2023-24 academic year, if only seven more students had improved to meeting standard reading levels, the region would have met its goals.
In eighth grade math, if 56 more students achieved the level of approaching grade level standards (less than the standard level but getting closer), the region would have met its goal.
The region would have needed 115 more K-3 students to show test score growth in English and math to meet its goals.
Looking at past Region 5 data
To look at where the region is headed, looking back helps paint the picture.
Past Tennessee Department of Education metrics from before the Region 5 program started:
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All eight of the region’s elementary schools scored below the 60% reading proficiency goal, but note that the data from the state includes grades 3-5 and not just third graders. Less than 10% of students at Maynard Elementary School met or exceeded proficiency levels in English tests. The districtwide percentage for grades 3-5 achieving proficiency or above is nearly 45%.
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Region 5 has three middle schools – Holston, Vine and Whittle Springs – all of which are behind their districtwide counterparts in math. According to the latest available standardized Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program testing data from before Region 5 started, 18% of students at Holston met or exceeded expectations in math, as did 6.7% of students at Vine Middle Magnet and 16.1% students at Whittle Springs, compared to nearly 40% districtwide. Note that this data point includes students in grades 6-8, not just eighth graders, who are isolated in the district’s goal.
Getting students ready for life after high school has room for growth
The region’s two high schools’ ready-graduate number ‒ 16.6% for Austin-East Magnet and 21% Fulton High School ‒ was well below the district’s level overall of nearly 44%. This indicator measures the percentage of students who are ready for college and/or a career, and its a priority for the region.
State scores overall
Tennessee released its first-ever letter grades for schools a few months info the Region 5 plan. While no school in the region scored an A, four scored a B. Of the four that were considered state’s lowest-performing, Austin-East and Vine scored an F grade. Green Magnet received a C grade and Maynard Elementary got a D.
What are the district’s long-term goals for the region?
The goals set last year were ambitious. Among them, by 2028, the district wants 60% of third graders in the region to be proficient in reading, 40% of eighth graders to be proficient in math and 80% high school graduates to be ready for post-high school life, as measured by state standards.
By 2028, the district wants to increase that number to graduating at least 350 with at least 300 considered ready.
Areena Arora, data and investigative reporter for Knox News, can be reached by email at areena.arora@knoxnews.com. Follow her on X @AreenaArora and on Instagram @areena_news.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Knox County Schools Region 5 plan: What data says after a year
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