Oak Ridge High School earned an “A” letter grade for the third consecutive year, while six schools earned “B” letter grades, and one school was denoted as a “C”, according to the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE). Oak Ridge Preschool is not eligible for a school letter grade because they do not serve students in grades that participate in state assessments.
“Letter Grades are one of many tools we use to help identify areas to get better,” said Dr. Bruce Borchers, Superintendent of Oak Ridge Schools. “Analyzing the components of our letter grade score helps us pinpoint opportunities for improvement so we can make informed decisions when designing and delivering instruction to our students. It is normal to see fluctuations in letter grades from year-to-year as we adjust our instructional practices to meet the changing needs of our students, and we welcome the opportunity to use this data point among many others to continue to improve.”
During Spring testing, Oak Ridge Schools outperformed the state average in every tested grade band and subject area. Collectively, ORS students performed, on average, 12.9 percentage points higher than the state average score. In the letter grade calculation, however, student achievement is weighted almost equal to student growth, or how much a student grows in a single academic year, and is largely what prevented schools in the district from earning higher letter grades. Robertsville Middle School saw large increases in student proficiency in Math, Science and Social Studies—and outperformed the state average in each of those subject areas—but ultimately earned C letter grades due to a decrease in their student growth scores.
“I am extremely proud of Oak Ridge High School for maintaining an ‘A’ letter grade for the third consecutive year,” said Borchers. “The staff and students have worked incredibly hard to build a culture that is centered around student achievement and this designation is a testament to that work. As with any assessment, we will use these letter grades as an opportunity to celebrate the good work happening in our schools and identify areas where we can continue to improve and positively impact our students. While our student achievement numbers remain ahead of the state averages, we will continue to use data from our predictive assessments throughout the year to implement strategies targeting student growth and remain diligent in doing what’s best for our students.”
Scores are calculated based on a school’s Achievement—determined by TCAP test results, Growth—determined by Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS) test results, and in the case of high school, College and Career Readiness. Each of these areas is weighted to determine its contribution towards the overall letter. Additionally, Growth is represented in two ways—Growth achieved by the overall student population, and Growth25, the growth achieved the lowest 25% of performers.
School Letter Grades are available via a public dashboard here. Additional information and resources about letter grades are available here.
| Oak Ridge Schools Letter Grades | |
| School | Grade |
| Glenwood | B |
| Linden | B |
| Willow Brook | B |
| Woodland | B |
| Jefferson | B |
| Robertsville | C |
| ORHS | A |
About TDOE Letter Grade Rating System
In 2016, the Tennessee General Assembly passed legislation requiring TDOE to establish a letter-grade (A-F) evaluation system for public schools, however, due to challenges related to state testing and COVID-19, the new accountability system was delayed for several years. 2023 was the first iteration of the annual “letter grade” assignments, which will be recalculated and released on an annual basis using the most recent testing data. This year’s grade is calculated using the 2023-24 academic year testing data.
