Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) have shown improvement in post-pandemic academic recovery across the board, but students at certain schools are recovering more quickly than others.¶
Nearly 25 percent of MSCS public charter school students scored proficient on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) math portion last year, a 2 percent increase from 2021. That is 3 percent higher than traditional public school students, though students at traditional schools have increased their proficiency rate by 6.9 percent since 2021.¶
The Numbers
The data comes from a report from Tennessee SCORE, a nonprofit advocating for better academic outcomes for students through strategic policy. SCORE’s report states that only 8 percent of MSCS public charter school students scored proficient on the TCAP grade 3-8 math tests during the first assessment after the pandemic in 2021. This was 8 percentage points behind their non-charter school peers, who had a 16 percent proficiency rate.¶
However, in just four years, the gap has closed, with MSCS charter students now outperforming students in M-SCS traditional public schools, achieving 26 percent proficiency, compared to non-charter students’ 24 percent. That equals an 18-percentage-point leap in math proficiency and is more than double the rate of increase of students in non-charter schools.¶
SCORE also cited an independent research study from the University of Kentucky and the University of Southern California, indicating that Memphis charter school students gained an additional 47 days of math instruction during the 2022-2023 school year compared to students in non-charter schools.¶
“Dramatic improvement is possible when instructional coherence is in place,” the SCORE report reads. “In just four years, the Memphis charter sector went from less than one in 10 students proficient in math to outperforming the city average. This type of sustained improvement is possible in Tennessee, and there are examples in the state worth learning from and scaling.”¶
What Does This Data Mean?
SCORE’s report points to a few possible causes of MSCS’s increased post-pandemic academic recovery in math, including the Teach Like A Champion (TLAC) Memphis math cohort. In the wake of the post-pandemic decline in math proficiency, math educators from eight Memphis charter networks came together to create the Memphis School Leader Collaborative (MSLC) with help from TLAC. The MSLC created a collaborative effort to focus on best practices for math instruction, including consistently using high-quality materials, ensuring strong, consistent lesson-delivery across each school, and pursuing continuous improvement. Instructional coherence, where all teachers teach from quality, aligned materials, supports student outcomes and demonstrates the possibility for closing gaps for students.¶
“With these academic gains, Memphis charter schools are proving a powerful point: The trajectory of math performance can change, and achievement gaps can close,” part of SCORE’s release said. “And, crucially, this type of positive, sustained growth does not happen by accident. It is the result of focused and concerted effort, commitment to high-quality curriculum and strong instruction, and responsiveness to student data.”¶
