LSS ACHIEVES HIGHEST DISTRICT SCORES IN BOTH MATH
AND READING/LANGUAGE ARTS
For the third year in a row in which scores were available, Lakeland School System’s (LSS) districtwide TNReady achievement scores in grades 3-5 rank number one in the state in both math and reading/language arts.
For the first time, these scores captured results from two schools, Lakeland Elementary School (LES) (K-4) and Lakeland Middle Preparatory School (LMPS) (5-8) which opened in August of 2017 and just completed its first year of operation.
LMPS 5th graders were among only 15% of 5th graders statewide who completed their assessments online during a testing period that included disruptions to testing nearly every day of the test administration due to technological issues with the statewide testing platform.
Lakeland 6th through 8th graders were also among 30% of students in that grade band that took their TNReady assessments online and experienced the same repeated interruptions to their testing due to technical issues.
LSS superintendent Dr. Ted Horrell said, “While we are disappointed that our middle school students did not get the opportunity to complete their online tests in a smooth, standardized testing environment, we obviously want to celebrate the accomplishments of our teachers who worked hard every single day of last school year to prepare our wonderful students to show what they learned.
“While it is gratifying to see our students succeed on their assessments, we know that their learning and progress cannot be summed up in a test score.”
From Kevin Floyd, chair of the Lakeland School Board:
“Recognizing that a test score is one of many indicators of a child’s education, we are extremely proud of our students, teachers, and administrators. To be the highest ranked district in the State in both Math and Reading/Language Arts in grades 3-5 is a remarkable accomplishment and a testament to the hard work of our teachers and students.”
From Tennessee Commissioner of Education Dr. Candice McQueen:
“The majority of the 650,000 students who took TNReady did so on paper, and about 300,000 students took TNReady online. Given the challenges with online administration in the spring, the Tennessee Department of Education hired a third-party expert to do an analysis of the results to see if and/or how the disruptions impacted the scores. The analysis found minimal, if any, impact on the overall scores. Where minimal impact was found, it tended to be in cases where students experienced multiple sign-in attempts. The analysis was only able to examine technical aspects. Other factors like student motivation, heightened media coverage, and legislation around assessment could not be quantified. The state has already made policy adjustments to ensure no adverse action is taken against any student, teacher, school, or district based on the 2017-18 data.”
Lakeland students in grades 9-12 attend Arlington High School through an interlocal agreement, until a high school is built in the City of Lakeland.
For additional information about LSS, contact Dr. Horrell at 867-5412 or email at thorrell@lakelandk12.org
Copy of the list of top 10 districts by overall achievement, provided by the State are included in a Google album.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/P5eYFSG2Pi3m1VC96
