Nashville Schools Release 2005-2006 Data and Makes Plans for the 2006-2007 School Year

Nashville Schools Did Well Academically in 2005-2006

Nashville Schools have made a lot of progress in the 2005-2006 school year. The Nashville Schools this school year has, in several key areas, had a higher percentage of students meet the required levels of proficiency as determined by the No Child Left Behind Act. This school eighty-six percent of kindergarten to eighth grade students are now proficient or advanced in reading as compared to the required target of eighty-three percent set by the No Child Left Behind Act. Among high school students, overall, sixty-nine percent scored proficient or advanced on the Algebra Gateway test on their first try. The No Child Left Behind Act sets a target of seventy-five percent. Even though this is below the target it is higher than the pervious year's results. In mathematics students in kindergarten to eighth grade now ranked as proficient or advanced rose to eighty-one percent. This surpasses the target set by the No Child Left Behind Act of seventy-nine percent.

Nashville Schools Aim to Catch Up with the State Average

Nashville School's scores are slightly below the Tennessee State average, but have made definite improvement in the school district's students' standings. The Tennessee Department of Education has increased the expected performance of students in three or four categories. Low-income students in the Nashville Schools made academic gains. Despite the higher percentage of low-income students in the Nashville Schools, our academic gains are equal to the improvement in more affluent school systems. In an effort to continue the gains made by the urban schools in the Nashville Schools, every Nashville middle school offers high-school-level classes for credit. Students can earn up to five credits before they enter high school. The District's ACT scores have continued to rise over the last five years. Tennessee Department of Education's school district rating system rates this progress as "significantly above average."

The Financial Status of Nashville Schools in 2005-2006

Nashville Schools spent an average of $8,540 per pupil for 70,569 students in grades K-12. This compares well to other school district spending around the country. The National Center of Education Statistics, a service of the U.S. Department of Education allows for comparison of school districts around the country on all manner of factors. The National Center of Education Statistics' "peer search" automatically chooses nine school districts across the country that match Nashville School's demographics. Those districts include: Albuquerque, NM; Alief, TX (near Houston), Austin, TX; Omaha, NE; Portland, OR; San Francisco, CA; Tucson, AZ; and Wichita, KS. The spending was inline with these school districts. In 2002-03 school year Nashville Schools spent almost exactly the same per-pupil dollars as our peer school districts -and slightly less than the national average.

The Nashville School District Education Board's plan for the 2006-07 budget will include: A 2% raise for all staff; a more competitive starting salary for teachers; a new call-home phone system to alert parents to unexplained student absences and inclement weather; expansion of the AVID program to all zoned high schools to prepare students to graduate on time with the necessary skills to attend college; opening one new school and moving students at eight sites where renovation is beginning or completed.

Stacy Andell is a staff writer for Schools K-12, providing free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. Stacy has a nose for research and writes stimulating news and views on school issues. For more on Nashville schools visit http://www.schoolsk-12.com/Tennessee/Nashville/index.html

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Nashville Schools Examine Its 2005-2006 Performance

Nashville Schools Board of Education Reviews Adequate Yearly Progress Results

Every year, every school district in Tennessee must examine its performance from the previous school year. This summer Nashville Schools had to do this as well. The Nashville Schools' Board of Education, which included both the outgoing members from 2005-2006 and the incoming members from 2006-2007, reviewed the results from the Tennessee Adequate Yearly Progress. The results will help to pinpoint for Nashville Schools those areas that have improved and where continued progress is needed. Nashville Schools had both remarkable achievements in some areas and areas that continue to be a challenge. This is the third year that the majority of schools in the Nashville Schools have received a rating of Good Standing, the highest rating that can be given. The remaining schools had moved either up or down from the previous year. The number of schools in Good Standing was 81 which is the same number as last year.

Possibly the biggest gain this year for Nashville Schools is that some of the schools categorized as high poverty schools received Good Standing ratings. Two schools Kirkpatrick and Napier Elementary Schools achieved a Good Standing rating for the first time since the Tennessee Adequate Yearly Progress was established. These two schools are two of the highest poverty schools in Nashville School District. There ratings reflect the effort that the students, teachers, parents and principals put in last school year.

But many schools did not receive a rating of Good Standing or even the same rating as last year. Many of these schools received a lower rating than previously. This indicates that there are still lots of areas that still need improvement. Nashville Schools has made the commitment to strive for every school to receive a Good Standing rating. Each summer the Nashville Schools' Board of Education meets to determine what steps can be taken to improve the coming school year's scores. The difficulty is that there are a variety of factors that can influence the rating. A small adjustment in one area could affect the overall standing. With this in mind the Board tries to find a way to make every school a school that rates Good Standing.

One of the biggest concerns for the Nashville Schools' Board of Education is the size of the District. Nashville Schools currently has around 74,000 students and must provide educational opportunities that meet the needs of this student population. Nashville School District includes both Nashville and Davidson Counties, so there are logistic concerns also. Nashville Schools are very confident about how this school year will proceed. The Nashville Schools Board of Education is a nine member body that is elected at the end of every school year composed of educators, community leaders and administrators. The members are elected in a public vote by the citizens of the Nashville School District. The Board believes that there is a real potential for all the schools to gain ratings of Good Standing by summer of 2007.

Stacy Andell is a staff writer for Schools K-12, providing free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. Stacy has a nose for research and writes stimulating news and views on school issues. For more information on Nashville schools visit http://www.schoolsk-12.com/Tennessee/Nashville/index.html

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.