BLOUNT COUNTY, TN – The Tennessee Department of Education released the school and district designations for the 2021 – 2022 school year. Schools are eligible for four designations based on overall student performance.

Including, overall test scores were also based on how well the school prepared the students and how often students attended.

According to the Department of Education, 16 districts earned a designation of “Exemplary”, and a number of schools saw improvement of TCAP scores compared to the 2020 – 2021 school year.

Tennessee Designations

There are five possible district designations which include: Exemplary, Advancing, Satisfactory, Marginal, and In Need of Improvement.

Moreover, the Tennessee Department of Education lists schools that are excelling and schools that are in need of some improvement. This is based on a yearly updated protocol of Accountability.

Continuing, the accountability system looks at crictial performance indicators across the board. These indicators include Grade Band Success Rate, Out of School, performance on English Proficiency Assessment, and Graduation Rates. The department then calculates the weighted average and designates the school accordingly.

Blount County Schools

On September 12th, 2022, Maryville City Schools and Blount County Schools fell under the “Advancing” District. This means that the weighted average for the two school districts were greater than or equal to 2.1 but less than 3.1.

The state also designated 427 Reward Schools. Overall, these schools met annual school goals and greatly improved performances in student groups.

Following, Blount County Schools that received those rewards include Mary Blount, Montvale and Rockford Elementary, Middlesettlements, Blount County’s Friendsville, Foothills, John Sevier, Sam Houston, and Maryville High School.

Continuing, Alcoa City Schools also received “Advancing” as a district. However, Alcoa Intermediate School was designated a Target School for Improvement.

Once a school ranks in the Need for Improvement designation, they are eligible for additional state funding.

Statements

Moreover, Commissioner Penny Schwinn said, “Tennessee students, families, educators, and school communities have worked hard to overcome a variety of challenges stemming from the pandemic and I congratulate them on their efforts.”

She continues, “Our teachers and school and district leaders focus on helping students improve every day and we will continue to focus on student achievement, as well as growth, so that all students are set on a path to success.”

Concluding, all individual designations are pending State of Education approval. The State of Education will approval at meeting on October 28th.