PROGRESS TOWARD STUDENT GOALS
Tennessee ’ s student achievement goals are ambitious , but we believe they are also achievable . Data from the Nation ’ s Report Card , state assessments like TNReady , and college entrance exams provide indicators of how well students are progressing toward these goals .
Goal 1 : Tennessee continues to be among the fastest-improving states in the country and ranks in the top half of all states in student achievement as measured by the National Assessment of Educational Progress ( NAEP ) by 2020 .
Every two years , the National Assessment of Educational Progress , also known as the Nation ’ s Report Card , assesses a random sample of students in each state and the District of Columbia to compare how well they are mastering rigorous course content . As documented in the 2015-16 State of Education in Tennessee report , Tennessee was the fastest improving state on NAEP in 2013 , and the 2015 results confirm that the 2013 gains were real and lasting . For the first time , Tennessee students in 2015 ranked in the top half of states in fourth-grade math , rising to 25th in the nation after ranking 46th just four years before . In math , Tennessee ’ s eighth-grade performance has risen over recent years , but achievement would need to surpass that of peers in 12 states to reach the top half nationwide by 2020 .
FIGURE 2 . TENNESSEE NAEP RANKINGS IN SCIENCE , 2009 & 2015
Bottom 25 Top 25
2009
30 30
4th Grade 8th Grade
2015
Tennessee students have made steady gains toward the top half in eighth-grade reading , but elementary readers ’ ranking declined from 2013 to 2015 . This decline , along with state data discussed later in this report , shows the need for urgent action to improve early-grades literacy .
FIGURE 3 . TENNESSEE NAEP RANKINGS IN READING , 2011-15
2011
19 21
2013 2015
|
FIGURE 1 . TENNESSEE NAEP RANKINGS IN MATH , 2011-15
2011 2013 2015
Bottom 25 Top 25
25
37 37
45 46
43
|
Bottom 25 Top 25 |
41 |
41
4th Grade
|
31 |
34 |
8th Grade
36
|
30 |
4th Grade
8th Grade
NAEP science results released in October 2016 show that Tennessee students now rank in the top half nationally in fourth- and eighth-grade science . This remarkable improvement now places the state in the top 20 in the nation in fourth-grade science .
A sample of fourth- and eighth-grade students will take NAEP math and reading assessments in 2017 , and results from those exams will provide an updated view of how well Tennessee students are progressing compared to their peers nationally .
After years of ranking near the bottom of all states on the Nation ’ s Report Card , historic gains shown in the most recent NAEP assessments have moved Tennessee into the top half of states for fourth-graders in math and science , as well as
PG . 13