Members of the Metro Nashville Board of Public Education will vote Tuesday evening on a state-required plan that sets 2038 as the year the district aims to have 70 percent of its third graders proficient in reading on state tests.¶
The plan is Metro Nashville Public Schools’ (MNPS) annual accountability report under the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) Act, the state’s student-based school funding formula.¶
State law requires every district to file one each year. It must lay out a path to 70 percent of third graders meeting or exceeding expectations in English language arts (ELA) on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP), and it must show how the previous year’s spending moved the district toward its goals.¶
In the district’s report, 35.5 percent of MNPS third graders met that bar last spring, up from 33.0 percent a year earlier. Statewide, 44.9 percent of third graders did, the best result since at least 2017.¶
State testing data put that statewide rate at 32.1 percent in 2021. A SCORE analysis of this year’s results found it has risen 9.2 percentage points since 2022, when schools first put the Tennessee Literacy Success Act into practice.¶
The district says its own literacy work is picking up speed.¶
“The increasing rate of growth over the three-year period suggests that district literacy initiatives are gaining traction and producing stronger results over time,” wrote the district.¶
Biggest Gain, Short of the Target
The report calls last year’s 2.5 percentage point increase the district’s largest annual gain since the plan began. State data back that up, showing earlier gains of 0.2 points in 2023-24 and 1.7 points in 2024-25.¶
Still, MNPS missed its own yearly targets. Its 2024 report called for 34.2 percent of third graders to be proficient in 2024-25 and 37.1 percent last school year. State law sets the floor for that three-year target, requiring districts below 70 percent to aim to close at least 15 percent of the gap between their 2022-23 results and 70 percent.¶
The district kept 2038 as its target year. That’s the same year listed in the 2024 report, and getting there from 35.5 percent would take an average climb of almost 2.9 percentage points a year for 12 straight years, faster than last year’s gain.¶
The report says recent results give the district momentum toward that goal.¶
“While each year brings a new cohort of students, even modest continued acceleration would position the district to exceed that goal,” wrote the district.¶
Where the Money Went
The report puts last year’s major TISA investments toward the reading goal at a rough estimate of $65.4 million.¶
The largest share, $30.6 million, paid for school-based instructional support, including literacy and numeracy coaches, instructional specialists, and deans of instruction. Additionally, $20.2 million went to the district’s Scholars Portfolio of summer learning and high-dosage tutoring, and $14.6 million covered high-quality instructional materials.¶
The report lists the same three investments, and the same $65.4 million, under the district’s separate goal for math.¶
Director of Schools Dr. Adrienne Battle pointed to curriculum materials when the district presented its test results to the board in August.¶
“One of the largest levers has been adopting high-quality instructional materials,” said Battle. “Also, becoming clear around how we intervene when a student is behind, what it looks like during personalized learning time, and other specialized times for our students.”¶
What Happens Next
The plan is one of four items on Tuesday’s consent agenda, along with the minutes of the October 27 meeting, contracts with 14 vendors, and the district’s annual compliance report to the state.¶
Reports were due to the Tennessee Department of Education by November 1, and the state’s form lets a board approve its report after that date. MNPS lists Tuesday’s meeting as its approval date. Each year, the state’s TISA Progress Review Board reviews every district’s report to decide whether the district is taking the right steps to reach its goal.¶
The board meets at 5 p.m. Tuesday at 2601 Bransford Avenue, and speakers during public participation are asked to keep their remarks to two minutes or less.¶
