NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP/WMOT) — Tennessee student scores are up overall in the latest round of assessment tests of elementary and middle school students.
Gov. Bill Haslam and Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman announced the statewide test results at a Nashville middle school Tuesday.
The governor credited the state's recent emphasis on improving education standards in Tennessee for producing the improved results.
Phil Waldrop, Associate Dean of the College of Education at Middle Tennessee State, agrees the results are good news, especially since the tests were recently made more difficult.
“A couple of years ago when we changed the performance indicators and changed the test and everything to make it more difficult we knew that things would drop back. Now the progress is starting to show and that’s all a good thing.”
While the higher scores are good news, half of all Tennessee students tested below grade level in reading and math. About 40 percent tested below grade level in science.
The data for individual school districts and schools has not yet been released.