SCORE report notes improvements in ELA and math scores

A recent report from the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) analyzing results from the 2024 Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) notes that despite some performance gaps, the state has achieved “record high proficiency rates in English language arts (ELA) for third, fourth and fifth graders."

According to the report, the results continue to show the positive impact of Tennessee’s investments in the public education system and efforts in schools to combat learning loss since the COVID-19 pandemic. It said that students continued making positive progress in ELA with a 1-point gain to 37.6 percent in 2024—a proficiency that significantly exceeds pre-pandemic performance of 33.7 percent in 2019. It also noted that students’ progress in math has continued but still lags behind 2019 proficiency rates - now at 39.7 percent in 2024, marking an improvement of 1.6 points from 2023, compared to 40.8 percent in 2019 for grades 3-8.

However, in math, it said, only white students have caught up to pre-pandemic performance, signaling a need to focus more on providing students with academic support to close performance gaps.

“Across ELA and math, gaps between student groups have narrowed slightly but remain stable. Concerningly, gaps between Black and White students continue to be greater than 20 percentage points,” an email from SCORE discussing recent TCAP results read.

The report noted that third grade ELA results remained relatively stable this year, increasing proficiency from 40.5 to 41 percent – a trend held across all student groups. Fourth grade proficiency increased nearly 3 points to 46.4 percent, with the fewest students scoring in the lowest performance category ever. In addition, the report said, the Black-White achievement gap decreased this year from 24 points to 22 points, the Hispanic-White achievement gap decreased this year from 22 points to 21 points and the economically disadvantaged student gap decreased from 26 points to 24 points. The report said that seventh grade math scores showed 38 percent proficiency, adding that seventh grade math has continued to see improvements after efforts to address declines during COVID - 38 percent proficient in 2024 versus 23 percent in 2021.

Performance is also firmly ahead of pre-pandemic highs, which was 34 percent proficiency in 2019. The report said that all student groups have now met or exceeded pre-pandemic performance levels with record highs being met or exceeded but added that all student groups improved at the same rates and maintained the same existing performance gaps.The Black-White achievement gap in this area remained stable at 28 points, while the Hispanic-White achievement gap remained stable at 19 points. The economically disadvantaged student gap remained stable at 26 points.

In terms of high school English performance, the SCORE report noted that English I proficiency for grades 9-12 remained steady at 35.4 percent. English II proficiency for grades 9-12 increased to 50.6 percent proficiency in 2024 from 49.4 percent in 2023. However, there are also equity gaps across grade levels. The Black-White gap is 22 points, while the Hispanic-White gap is 17 points. The economically disadvantaged gap is 23 points for grades 9-12 in English I, the report said.

The report said that while student-focused policies have supported recovery from pandemic-related learning loss, the results suggest that there is still more work to be done to address performance gaps. From 2021 to 2023, the report said, achievement gaps between student groups “widened significantly.”

“This year, despite steady overall growth, gaps remained persistent and have not yet started to meaningfully close. It is critical for Tennessee to renew its focus on addressing opportunity gaps for students who are traditionally underserved,” the report read.