Reading scores have rebounded to pre-pandemic levels or better in Tennessee, according to a new analysis, reports Beth Hawkins on The 74. Math scores are up too, but not as much.
Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn credits "a $200 million statewide program to deliver intensive, high-quality tutoring to struggling students and $100 million in grants to help schools to pay for literacy materials aligned with the science of reading, training for thousands of teachers on their use and frequent student screenings," writes Hawkins
The new Tennessee Accelerating Literacy and Learning Corps (TN ALL Corps), which matches groups of no more than three elementary pupils or four middle schoolers with the same tutor for two or three 30- or 45-minute sessions a week. The tutoring takes place during the school day and ideally is conducted by experienced educators.
. . . A number of districts that were among the first to offer intensive tutoring saw double-digit gains in reading. Trousdale County Schools’ 1,400 students posted a 15-point jump in proficiency, for example. Metro Nashville Public Schools and Memphis-Shelby County Schools each had an 8% increase.
Urban, suburban and rural districts saw gains.