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Memphis students continue to improve on state reading tests, but struggle to achieve proficiency in math — especially in middle school.
Preliminary results from this year’s Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program, or TCAP, show the biggest literacy gains for third graders. Just under 32% achieved reading proficiency this year, up from 29.2% last year. Those who don’t pass face significant state interventions, including being held back for a year.
The overall reading proficiency rate in Memphis-Shelby County Schools increased by 1 percentage point to 25.7%, a growth rate on pace with recent years. That still lags behind the state average, with nearly 45% of students across Tennessee achieving proficiency this year.
“We’re trying to make sure that students are ready for third grade, because that’s when we switch: you learn to read K-2, then you read to learn,” said Angela Whitelaw, MSCS’ chief of academics. “We’re not where we want to be. But we’re proud of our teachers for the work that they keep doing year after year.”
These results are preliminary, said Bill White, MSCS’ accountability officer. The final TCAP data, which is adjusted to include alternate tests and exempt students, won’t be released for a few months. White said MSCS’ proficiency rates typically increase slightly in those final numbers. That’s also when individual school and student subgroup data will be available.
Academic performance in MSCS is under heightened scrutiny as a state-appointed takeover board assumes control of the district on July 1. Those nine oversight board members have the ability to alter curriculum and overhaul teaching staff, as happened in Houston’s 2023 state takeover.
District leaders say they’ve been focusing heavily on early literacy this past year, investing in staff for small-group lessons and after-school tutoring. Meanwhile, most elementary and middle school grades saw slight dips in math proficiency.
The biggest drop came among MSCS sixth graders, where 15.7% of students passed the math TCAP — down 4 percentage points from last year.
“When you put a focus on any one area, you will see improvement immediately,” Whitelaw said. “We see high schools are moving; we see the elementary, we have some bright spots. But we know as a district, six through eight, that’s where we’re going to have to spend some time.”
Whitelaw said high school math used to be the district’s “Achilles’ heel.” But MSCS high school students significantly improved on TCAP math tests this year, gaining more than 7 percentage points in geometry proficiency.
Whitelaw said three main changes this year contributed to that rise: The district created standardized lesson plans for teachers, invested in more professional development, and adopted a regional model that allowed academic coordinators more opportunities to coach high school teachers.
“The academic coordinators are like our lynchpin between curriculum and instruction in the classroom,” Whitelaw said. “They take the strategies that we showed them at the central office level and they make sure that it gets inside of those classrooms.”
Now that MSCS knows those strategies work, Whitelaw said leaders will focus on improving those models for middle school educators, such as seeking teacher feedback on standardized lesson plans. They’re partnering with the Council of Great City Schools to support that work and launching “lesson plan champions,” principal-selected teachers who can mentor their peers on instructional strategies.
Plus, the district received a five-year grant from national curriculum nonprofit TNTP to improve middle school literacy, receiving $90,000 annually.
“Instructional coherence is going to be big this year,” Whitelaw said. That means ensuring that what’s taught in classrooms is replicated in small group sessions and afterschool tutoring, she said.
Bri Hatch covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Bri at bhatch@chalkbeat.org.
