How to Read Your School's Report Card

Eight steps to reading the report card

1. 1

   Start with the letter grade, and know what it measures

   Every Tennessee public school now carries a single A-F letter grade, first released in December 2024 for the 2023-24 school year under a 2016 state law. The letter is a composite: a school earns a score on a 0-to-5 scale, and that score sets the grade. An A is 4.0 or higher, a B is 3.0 to 3.9, a C is 2.0 to 2.9, a D is 1.0 to 1.9, and an F is below 1.0. Before you react to the letter, remember it is several different measures rolled into one number.

2. 2

   Look at growth before achievement

   Achievement tells you how students scored on state tests in a single year. Growth tells you how much they improved, regardless of where they started. Growth, measured through the state value-added system, is the heaviest-weighted part of the formula, and it is the fairest one. A school serving students who arrive behind grade level can post strong growth even while its raw achievement scores trail wealthier districts. If you only read achievement, you may be measuring the income of a school’s families more than the quality of its teaching.

3. 3

   Check the growth of the bottom 25 percent

   Tennessee scores a separate measure for the academic progress of the lowest-performing 25 percent of students. It is the report card’s clearest equity signal. A school can earn a comfortable overall grade while its most vulnerable students stall, or it can be quietly excellent at lifting the students who need the most help. This number tells you which.

4. 4

   Read the subject breakdown

   A single letter hides a lot. The school profile breaks performance out by subject: English language arts, math, science, and social studies. A school can be strong in literacy and weak in math, or the reverse. If your child struggles in one area, the subject-level data matters far more to you than the overall grade.

5. 5

   For high schools, weigh college and career readiness

   High schools carry a component that elementary and middle schools do not: how prepared graduates are for what comes next. That includes graduation rates, ACT performance, and the share of students earning industry certifications or completing career pathways. For a high school, this is one of the most concrete measures of whether the school is doing its core job.

6. 6

   Compare against the county and the state, not just the letter

   Every Tennessee Firefly school profile shows where a school ranks within its county and how its score compares to the state average. Context changes everything. A C in a county where most schools earn A’s is a different story than a C sitting right at the state median. Always read the grade next to its neighbors.

7. 7

   Cross-check with the official state report card

   The letter grade is a starting point, not the whole record. The Tennessee Department of Education publishes a fuller report card for every school, with data the letter grade leaves out: attendance, discipline, chronic absenteeism, student demographics, and per-pupil spending. Every school profile on Tennessee Firefly links straight to the official report card. Open it.

8. 8

   Remember what the grade cannot tell you

   No single letter captures school climate, teacher turnover, the strength of the arts or athletics, the quality of special-education services, or whether your specific child will be known and supported. The grade is a useful question to start with: why did this school score the way it did? It was never meant to be the answer. Pair it with a visit, a conversation with other families, and a look at the data underneath.