Dr. Ted Horrell, Lakeland School System (LSS) superintendent, told parents today (8.16.18) he is disappointed, but not surprised by the low ranking of Level 1 for Lakeland Middle Preparatory School (LMPS) on the TVAAS composite scores released today.
The Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS) score measures student growth year-over-year, regardless of whether the student is proficient on the state assessment, as per the TVAAS website.
LMPS was among a number of Shelby County schools receiving a ranking of Level 1, the lowest score on a scale of one to five. Others receiving a Level 1 for an overall composite score in the school composite data were Arlington Middle, Collierville High, Germantown’s Houston High, Rivercrest Elementary in Bartlett and E.A. Harrold Elementary in Millington.
In a letter to parents and the community, Dr. Horrell said of scores for LMPS, “We were disappointed but not entirely surprised to see that the TVAAS (or student growth) score assigned to Lakeland Middle Preparatory School and Lakeland School System was Level 1, the lowest level possible, for 2017-18.
“We want to emphasize that, despite that score, we don’t feel like parents have reason to be concerned about the quality of education students are receiving in LSS.”
He said students at LMPS took their TNReady assessments online and were the only students in that grade band in Shelby County that experienced the disruptions in test administration that also interrupted high school tests throughout the state.
On a more positive note, he said Lakeland Elementary School (LES) was assigned a score of Level 5 for 2017-18, the highest score possible. He added LSS is ranked as the highest performing district in the state in 3-5 English/Language Arts and Math.
See the letter, below:
Additionally, Dr. Horrell said, “TVAAS is designed to measure whether or not students perform as well as they were predicted to perform on standardized tests. The predictions are based both on each student’s prior performance and comparisons with the same year performance of similar students.
“I am not surprised that our middle school students, in particular, did not perform as well as predicted because they were interrupted every day but one of the testing by issues with the testing platform. The performance of our middle school students was compared with that of students who did not take the tests online and, therefore, did not encounter the same issues.
“We are already working hard with an eye to this year’s testing and what we hope will be a smooth, standardized test administration. “
Excel spreadsheet information provided by the state:
An explanation of the TVAAS is provided from the TN.gov TVAAS website:
The Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS) measures student growth year over year, regardless of whether the student is proficient on the state assessment. In calculating a TVAAS score, a student’s performance is compared relative to the performance of his or her peers who have performed similarly on past assessments.
Because students’ performance is compared to that of their peers, and because their peers are moving through the same standards and assessment transitions at the same time, any drops in proficiency during these transitions have no impact on the ability of teachers, schools, and districts to earn strong TVAAS scores. Transitions to higher standards and expectations do not change the fact that we still want students to make a full year’s worth of growth, relative to their peers who are all experiencing the same transition.
Link to the state website and all data: https://www.tn.gov/education/data/tvaas.html
