New statistics indicate that Tennessee students are among the top in the country in post-pandemic academic recovery.¶
The Education Scorecard, released today, ranks Tennessee second out of 38 states in math recovery and fourth out of 35 states in reading recovery (including Washington, D.C., which is 1st in both categories).¶
The Education Scorecard is a joint venture by the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University and the Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford University. It combines test result data from approximately 35 million students in grades three through eight and national assessment data to provide a clear view into academic changes in local communities.¶
"Tennessee’s latest Education Scorecard results signal more than learning recovery — they are further proof that Tennessee has become a national model for K-12 education,” said Tennessee SCORE President and CEO David Mansouri in a statement. “ Alongside recent National Report Card (NAEP) analysis showing Tennessee as the #1 state in the South for student achievement, this progress reflects years of sustained focus on student outcomes, high standards and accountability systems, as well as student-centered policies coupled with strong implementation. Now the opportunity is to build on this momentum, close remaining learning gaps, and improve outcomes for every student in our state so that they are truly prepared for a thriving career that leads to economic independence."¶
Tennessee’s Key Findings
The Education Scorecard also found that gains in many high-poverty districts were driven by federal pandemic relief funds. Tennessee received approximately $3.86 billion, which is around $3,900 per student.¶
“Unfortunately, many middle-poverty districts (those with 30 to 70 percent of students receiving federal lunch subsidies) received little federal aid,” part of a release from Education Scorecard reads. “Now that the federal relief is gone, Tennessee should focus school improvement dollars on the middle and higher poverty districts that remain behind their pre-pandemic levels.”¶
The new data also indicates a few more positive details:¶
- Tennessee students are nearly back to pre-pandemic math levels.
- Johnson City, Putnam County, White County, and Maury County are outperforming other districts in the state in math and reading.
- Memphis-Shelby County and Montgomery County are still the state’s biggest challenges for recovery.
- Chronic absenteeism has decreased by 2 percentage points between 2022 and 2025, but chronic absence rates remain about 5 percentage points above pre-pandemic levels.
“Tennessee shines at the top of the rankings in today's Education Scorecard release, as public schools have achieved the rank of #1 state in the nation in math proficiency increases and the #3 state in reading proficiency increases from 2022-2025,” TennesseeCAN Executive Director Chelsea Crawford said in a release. “This is a major accomplishment that will have life-changing impacts for students and indicates Tennessee’s K-12 education policies and investments to improve student outcomes are working.”¶
Statewide and district-specific fact sheets are available at: https://educationscorecard.org/states/tennessee/.¶
