Report finds Tennessee’s public charter school students showing more academic growth than traditional school peers

Student reading a book (Photo by the Tennessee Charter School Center)

A new report from the Tennessee Charter School Center found public charter schools are outperforming traditional public schools on state measurements for student growth.

Tennessee measures student academic growth through the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS) on a scale of one to five, with Level 1 showing below expected growth and Level 5 schools exceeding growth expectations.

The Charter Center’s 2023/2024 Impact Report found public charter schools were more likely to achieve a TVAAS Level 4 or 5 than traditional public schools in their respective districts.

In Nashville 68 percent of Metro Nashville Public Schools’ charters earned either a Level 4 or 5 TVAAS score.  Just 37 percent of traditional public schools in the district earned Level 4 or 5 scores.The disparity was even more prominent for charters in Memphis-Shelby County Schools.

The report found 76 percent of charters in the district achieved a TVAAS Level 4 or 5. Only 28 percent of the district’s traditional public schools equaled that score.

Hamilton County Schools has just 8 public charter schools in the district, but those schools also showed stronger growth than the district overall.

The report found 84 percent of the district’s charters scored a TVAAS Level 4 or 5 compared to 42 percent of traditional public schools in Hamilton County.

Each year, the Tennessee Charter School Center produces an Impact Report to showcase the difference charters are making for students across the state. Tennessee currently has 115 public charter schools in that serve more than 44 thousand students.

“We are proud to play a part in ensuring that Tennessee continues to be an environment where public charter schools and the students who attend them can succeed,” said Elizabeth Fiveash, TCSC Interim CEO. “Our goal is that within 10 years, Tennessee will be the best place in the country to launch a public charter school - and we are right on track.”

This year’s report also highlighted a recent Stanford study that found charter students in Tennessee gained an additional 34 days in reading and 39 days in math.