The 2015 State Report Card is in, and Williamson County Schools and the Franklin Special School District both received all A’s in achievement this year. The State Report Card provides a profile of each school district throughout the state, using performance on various standardized assessments and collected statistics to award grades.
[quote font_size=”14″ bgcolor=”#” color=”#” bcolor=”#” arrow=”no”]“I am pleased that we continue to increase the number of students graduating from our high schools and that our historically high ACT scores are opening more doors of opportunity for them,” said Superintendent Dr. Mike Looney. “I continue to be so proud of our students, teachers and staff for their relentless effort. We know we still have work to do, and we will continue to work on growing our students in all academic areas.”[/quote]
Below are some of the district highlights from the 2015 Report Card:
- Straight A’s in 3-8 Achievement, with same or higher scores from the previous report card
- One A, one B and one C in Value-Added Growth, meaning WCS met or exceeded expectations in all subjects
- Highest ACT score in district history with a 23.8, with 45 percent of all students achieving all four college readiness benchmarks (also a WCS best)
- Graduation rate increased from 94.4 percent to 95.5 percent
FSSD Earns Straight A’s in Achievement
The district received all A’s in achievement in the three testing categories — reading/language arts, math, and science. The Report Card also reflects excellent academic gain (value-added assessment) in all subjects. One year of academic gain is reflected with a C on the Report Card. The FSSD received a Report Card grade of A in math, B in science, and C in reading/language arts.
[quote font_size=”14″ bgcolor=”#” color=”#” bcolor=”#” arrow=”no”]“We are extremely proud of our State Report Card results,” said Director of Schools Dr. David Snowden. “As in years past, there are numerous areas to celebrate the work of our students and teachers. In addition, we have areas where we will continue to focus for improvement with the continued goal of having each child experience success. We are fortunate to have tremendous parent partnerships and we are also very appreciative of the support from the Board of Education, which makes decisions with the best interest of children in mind,” Snowden said.[/quote]
As a whole, FSSD students scored at some of the highest levels in the state:
- With 74.6 percent proficient or advanced in math, as compared to the state average of 55.6 percent.
- In reading/language arts, 69 percent of FSSD students scored at the proficient or advanced levels as compared to the state average of 48.4 percent.
- In science, the percentage of students scoring proficient or advanced is 83.3 compared to the state’s percentage of 64.5.
In the third category of Accountability, the FSSD followed the statewide trend in achievement gap closure. Gap closure continues to be a major focus, with particular emphasis on bringing the lowest performing subgroups up at an increased rate by offering intensive intervention and tiered instruction.
Other Report Card highlights for FSSD include:
- 100 percent of teachers are verified by the state as “highly qualified” in the subject areas they teach, and 66 percent have master’s degrees or higher.
- The district’s promotion rate is 99.8 percent, as compared to the state average of 98.4 percent.
- Daily attendance in the FSSD improved by .6 percent, up to 97.3 percent, compared to the state average of 95.7 percent.
