Cannon County Schools are “Advancing” and East Side School is a “Reward School” according to the Tennessee Department of Education. Tennessee Commissioner of Education Dr. Penny Schwinn released the scores for all public school districts in Tennessee today. Cannon County Schools improved from the “Satisfactory” category in 2017-2018 to the “Advancing” category in 2018-2019. Final district determinations are calculated by using a weighted average of the district’s scores on the All Students and Subgroup status, with all students weighted at 60% and subgroups at 40%. The final determinations are: Exemplary; Advancing; Satisfactory; Marginal; and In Need of Improvement. This is on a 4 point scale that is utilized nationwide following the ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) Federal guidelines and includes Achievement, Growth, Absenteeism, and for Cannon County High School, Graduation Rate and TN Ready Graduates. The following chart demonstrates that Cannon County Schools are in the Middle of “Advancing” category at 2.6.
Director of Cannon County Schools, Mr. William F. Curtis stated regarding the school district’s progress, “I am very happy regarding our gains as a school district. We celebrate the hard work of students, teachers, administrators, and our staff. While we celebrate this success, we very much realize our need to improve academics and get to the ‘Exemplary’ level of success for all schools.”
Individual school scores were also released by the Tennessee Department of Education on Thursday, August 15th, 2019. There was also very good news for Cannon County Schools in that East Side Elementary School achieved “Reward School” status! In accordance with Tennessee’s accountability system, as well as federal and state law, the Tennessee Department of Education names schools that are excelling as well as those who need additional support.
The year 2018 was the first year the department has implemented its new school accountability system. The new framework is based on multiple indicators, similar to district accountability, and it is built on the principles that poverty is not destiny and the success of each student matters. Given that, in the new model, all schools are able to achieve Reward status, and there is no cap on the number of Reward schools. Reward schools are generally those that are improving in terms of achievement and growth for both all students and student groups.
All school and district designations are pending State Board of Education approval pursuant to T.C.A. § 49-1-602. The individual school scoring system is very similar to the district scoring system on a scale from 1 to 4. East Side Elementary had a score of 3.4 placing it in the “Reward School” category.
Cannon County individual Schools scored on a 4 point scale that is utilized nationwide following the ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) Federal guidelines and includes Achievement, Growth, Absenteeism, and for Cannon County High School, Graduation Rate and TN Ready Graduates:
| Auburn Elementary | 2.4 |
| Cannon County High School | 1.9 |
| East Side Elementary | 3.4 |
| Short Mountain Elementary | 2.4 |
| West Side Elementary | 1.2 |
| Woodbury Grammar | 2 |
| Woodland Elementary | 2 |
Tennessee is required by federal law to identify Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) schools. TSI schools are those that fall in the bottom five percent for their weighted overall accountability score for any given student subgroup (i.e. Black/Hispanic/Native American, Economically Disadvantaged, English Learners, or Students with Disabilities) or any given racial or ethnic group (i.e., Hispanic/Latino, Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, Asian, and White). One school in the Cannon County School District, West Side Elementary School, was identified as a Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) due to a subgroup. This school will be supported by the Tennessee Department of Education and local Cannon County Schools assistance and will be eligible for additional funding. Additionally, TSI school identification will occur annually.
TNReady assessment results released today (08-15-2019) by Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn indicate that students across the state are performing better in almost all math subjects. The TNReady scores also show that more than half the schools in Tennessee – 56 percent – improved their growth scores (TVAAS scores) from the previous year, with 41 percent of all schools earning a level 4 or 5 TVAAS rating which measures year-to-year growth.
“I’m impressed with the improvement we’ve seen in mathematics”, Commissioner Schwinn said, while adding, “The dedication of our educators, commitment to implementing high-quality materials, and unwavering student focus is what sets Tennessee apart and will continue to be the catalyst for moving our state forward.”
Cannon County Schools TVAAS growth information and individual school data will be released in the next several days. Congratulations to Cannon County Schools for its progress and East Side Elementary School for its attainment of “Reward School” status.