Knox County School System gets a B from the State  

The State of Tennessee today released the 2001 School Report Cards for all school systems in the state and Knox County has again achieved an aggregate grade of B.

The report card gives schools letter grades in various subject areas based on a three-year average of Tennessee Comprehensive Achievement Program (TCAP) results. The report provides grades for achievement as well value added gains, which indicate the level of academic growth students achieve in a given school year.

In most academic areas, the Knox County School System continued to score higher than the state average. However, in per pupil expenditure and teacher salary the system received an F and a D respectively.

“I’d have to say the aggregate academic grade for the system is a B, “ said Dr. Mike Winstead, Knox County Schools coordinator of research and evaluation. “While all areas have not experienced gains, the general trend across the system, based on value added scores, is toward improvement.”

“Compared to last year, our elementary language value-added score grade is down,” said Winstead. “Grades in this area are down across the state, and we are not sure why. This is not an outcome that can normally be expected or predicted,” he said. “The state will have to look closely at this to determine if the test is correctly designed.“

“We have many schools with exceptional results,” said Dr. Charles Lindsey the Knox County Schools superintendent. “We also have schools where we need to improve, and we have initiated some programs we feel will help us achieve better results in these schools.”

“Project GRAD is now a reality for our inner city schools,” said Lindsey. “This program has had amazing results in other areas of the country, and we feel it will really help us improve our achievement levels here as well. We have also proposed a World Class School System template that, if accepted by the community, will move the system ahead in accountability and achievement in all areas,” he said.

“We have produced a B school system on F funding, “ Lindsey continued. “Just imagine what we could do if we
were funded at even the C level.” The grades for all Knox County schools will be posted on the school system website at http://www.korrnet.org/kcschool/.

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