Memphis-Shelby County Schools leaders put a positive spin on TCAP numbers released by the state Wednesday, July 6, saying they represent “unprecedented gains.”

The numbers, however, show that the vast majority of the more than 100,000 students in Tennessee’s largest public school district are performing below grade-level expectations.

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About 20.5% of third- through eighth-grade students are meeting grade-level expectations in English Language Arts, while about 14.5% are meeting expectations in math.

But Superintendent Joris Ray applauded the results during a Wednesday morning press conference at Southwind Elementary School, hours after the results were released by the Tennessee Department of Education.

“I’m so happy to share these unprecedented gains because for 2021, never before have we asked students to sit for a standardized test in the midst of a pandemic,” Ray said.

The data showed that students from all grade levels made gains across nearly every subject. The only exception was high school biology, where teachers are “adjusting to new state standards,” according to press release from the district.

High school students performed better in English than they have in the past five years.

And while the numbers may seem low, they do mark an improvement over scores from last year.

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ELA and math proficiency rose over 7% for both subjects compared to last year, when only 13% of third- through eighth- grade students were meeting grade-level expectations in ELA and only 7.4% in math.

“Memphis-Shelby County Schools made an unprecedented comeback. We are trending up,” Ray said, referring to the scores.

Ray highlighted several district initiatives as things that helped students make those gains:

• Tutoring for students before, during and after school
• “Doubling down” on literacy
• Investments in social-emotional learning
• Strategic literacy partnerships
• Year-round professional development for teachers and principals

Although the numbers signal a return to pre-pandemic levels, they are still comparatively lower than scores shown in the state-level data that was released last month.

Those numbers showed that statewide, 36.4% students are meeting grade-level expectations in ELA.

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Only three in 10 are meeting them for math.

Looking toward the future, Angela Whitelaw, deputy superintendent of schools and academic support, said that with the board’s permission, the district has moved away from its previous Destination 2025 plan in favor of a new framework that focuses on three strategies:

• Continuing to focus on literacy
• Retaining and recruiting effective teachers
• Expanding rigorous programs for students

As far as goals they seek to accomplish from the new framework, she didn’t offer specifics. She did say, however, that goals will come in time as the district has a chance to comb through the data released Wednesday.

“What will be those goals? They will be ambitious, they will be bold, but we want to make sure that we’re moving in the right direction,” she said.