Knox County high school students who took the 2017-18 TNReady end-of-course exams continued to perform better than the state in all four subject areas and on each end-of-course (EOC) exam. Students’ scores on the EOC exam fall into one of four performance categories: below, approaching, on track or mastered.

In a similar manner, KCS elementary and middle school students performed better than the state in each subject and grade band. Students’ scores on the TNReady exam fall into one of four performance categories: below, approaching, on grade level or mastered.

This was the third year high school students completed TNReady and the second year for elementary and middle school students.

Overall, Knox County’s performance mirrored the state in areas where the district improved proficiency and areas where it declined.

In 2018, for high school end-of-course exams:

• 37.6% of students were on track or mastered in ELA, down from 39.8% in 2017
• 26.3% of students were on track or mastered in math, up from 25.5% in 2017
• 53.3% of students were on track or mastered in science, down from 54.7% in 2017
• 38.8% of students were on track or mastered in U.S. history, down from 39.9% in 2017

For middle school (grades 6-8) TNReady exams:

• 35.6% of students were on grade level or mastered in ELA, down from 39.7% in 2017
• 38.3% of students were on grade level or mastered in math, down from 41.2% in 2017
• 65.1% of students were on grade level or mastered in science, down from 67.3% in 2017

For elementary school (grades 3-5) TNReady exams:

• 40.9% of students were on grade level or mastered in ELA, up from 40% in 2017
• 41.3% of students were on grade level or mastered in math, down from 42% in 2017
• 58% of students were on grade level or mastered in science, down from 60.7% in 2017

It’s unknown the extent of which online testing issues factored into scores. All Knox County high schools and 10 middle schools (8^th grade only at Powell Middle School) took the TNReady test online.

“I am very proud of our outstanding educators and the job they do every day,” Superintendent Bob Thomas said. “While I am disappointed in the areas where we went down, there were some bright spots, including positive gains in high school math and elementary English language arts, an area where we have been placing additional focus. We remain committed to continually improving the education we provide to our students.”