The State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) today announced the 12 finalists for the fourth annual SCORE Prize. The prize recognizes the Tennessee elementary, middle, and high schools and school districts that are leaders in student learning.
The 2014 SCORE Prize finalists are:
Elementary
- • Dresden Elementary, Weakley County Schools.
- • Highland Park Elementary, Loudon County Schools.
- • Westwood Elementary, Manchester City Schools.
Middle
- • Freedom Preparatory Academy, Shelby County Schools.
- • Hillsboro Elementary/Middle School, Williamson County Schools.
- • KIPP Academy Nashville, Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools.
High
- • Covington High School, Tipton County Schools.
- • Martin Luther King, Jr. High School, Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools.
- • Ravenwood High School, Williamson County Schools.
District
- • Kingsport City Schools.
- • Maryville City Schools.
- • Williamson County Schools.
“The SCORE Prize recognizes public schools and school districts that exemplify how to improve academic performance even as we raise academic expectations in our state,” said SCORE President and CEO Jamie Woodson. “Each of the 2014 SCORE Prize finalists is demonstrating remarkable success in preparing students for college and careers. We applaud them, their educators, their students, their parents, and their communities for leading the way in ensuring that every Tennessee student graduates prepared for college and the workforce.”
The SCORE Prize is the hallmark data-based effort in Tennessee to recognize schools and districts that are leaders in student learning. The SCORE Prize will award $10,000 to each elementary, middle, and high school winner and $25,000 to the district winner. Winners and finalists are also highlighted throughout the year as part of SCORE’s work to identify and share practices that are improving student academic performance.
The SCORE Prize uses a two-step process to identify finalists and winners. In the first stage, finalists were identified through a weighted criteria selection process that took into account performance on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) and growth from the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS). College-readiness data, such as ACT, college-going, and graduation rates, were considered for high schools and districts.
Here are some additional details on the performance of the finalists:
- • Dresden Elementary in Weakley County serves more than 450 students in grades PK-4. Dresden has shown strong growth, particularly in math and science, and has three-year TCAP proficiency rates that exceed the state average in math, reading, and science.
- • Highland Park Elementary in Loudon County serves more than 350 students in grades PK-4. Over the past three years, Highland Park has shown strong growth, particularly in math and reading, and has progressed in closing achievement gaps, particularly in reading.
- • Westwood Elementary in Manchester City Schools serves more than 450 students in grades PK-5. Westwood has shown strong growth, particularly in math and science, over the past three years.
- • Freedom Preparatory Academy, a public charter school in Shelby County, serves nearly 300 students in grades 6-10. Freedom Prep has shown strong growth, particularly in math and science over the past three years. Freedom Prep’s three-year math proficiency rate exceeds the state average. Freedom Prep was previously a finalist for the 2013 SCORE Prize.
- • Hillsboro Elementary/Middle School in Williamson County serves more than 300 students in grades 6-8 as well as PK-5 students. Hillsboro’s middle school students have demonstrated strong growth, particularly in math and science. The school has three-year TCAP proficiency rates well above the state average.
- • KIPP Academy Nashville, a public charter school in Metro Nashville, serves more than 200 students in grades 5-8. KIPP has demonstrated incredible growth, particularly in math and science. KIPP has three-year math and science proficiency rates that exceed the state average.
- • Covington High School in Tipton County serves nearly 750 students in grades 9-12. Covington has among the highest Algebra I and II growth in the state and has recently seen notable growth in English II. Covington has also seen significant growth on ACT performance over the past three years. Covington High is a two-time SCORE Prize winner, and this is its third nomination.
- • Martin Luther King, Jr. High School in Metro Nashville is an academically selective school serving more than 800 students in grades 9-12. MLK has demonstrated strong growth, particularly in Algebra I, Algebra II, and ACT performance over the last three years. The school also posts a high Advanced Placement (AP) pass rate of nearly 70 percent.
- • Ravenwood High School in Williamson County serves nearly 1,900 students in grades 9-12. Ravenwood has demonstrated strong growth in Algebra I and II and has three-year TCAP proficiency rates near or above 90 percent in nearly every subject. Ravenwood has seen strong ACT growth and has an AP exam pass rate of nearly 80%. Ravenwood was a SCORE Prize finalist in 2012.
- • Kingsport City Schools serves nearly 6,700 students in grades PK-12 in East Tennessee. The Kingsport system has demonstrated strong three-year growth in math, Algebra I and II, and science. Kingsport also has strong three-year ACT growth and performance. Kingsport was a SCORE Prize finalist in 2013.
- • Maryville City Schools serves nearly 5,000 students in grades PK-12 in East Tennessee. The district has demonstrated strong growth in nearly every subject, most notably in math and science. Maryville also has seen strong three-year ACT growth and performance. Maryville won the district SCORE Prize in 2011 and was a finalist in 2012.
- • Williamson County Schools serves more than 32,000 students in grades PK-12 in Middle Tennessee. Williamson County has seen notable growth in math and Algebra I and II over the past three years. Williamson County also has strong three-year ACT growth and performance. Williamson County was a SCORE Prize finalist in 2011.
The winners of the SCORE Prize will be announced at 6 p.m., Monday, October 27, at Laura Turner Concert Hall, Schermerhorn Symphony Center, in Nashville. The event will be hosted by SCORE Chairman and former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and will highlight the outstanding work of the finalists. Country music artist Dustin Lynch will provide a special musical performance.
Tickets for the SCORE Prize event are free. To reserve a seat and learn more about the SCORE Prize visit www.tnscore.org/scoreprize.