Sign up for Chalkbeat Tennessee’s free newsletter to keep up with statewide education policy and Memphis-Shelby County Schools.

Tennessee students held their ground on a major national test in a year when average student test scores declined nationwide.

Results from the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, released Wednesday, show that average test scores in Tennessee increased slightly in fourth and eighth grade reading and math, compared with 2022, though the gains were not statistically significant.

Tennessee’s latest post-pandemic results stood in contrast to declines seen nationwide and in many other states. And Tennessee students scored three to four points higher than the national average in math and one to two points higher in reading.

“Tennessee students did well relative to other states, and we did better than some of our neighbors,” Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds said.

“We didn’t move backwards, we moved a little bit forward, and we expect to do better next year,” added state Rep. Mark White, of Memphis, who chairs a key House education committee and also serves on the NAEP governing board.

Math scores outpace reading scores

Tennessee has launched numerous initiatives aimed at bolstering early literacy, but the latest NAEP showed the state’s most dramatic improvements came in math.

In fourth grade math, 42% of students scored proficient or advanced, an increase of 6 percentage points from 2022. The state was one of 29 jurisdictions that posted scores similar to 2019, before the pandemic. Only Alabama had average scores higher than 2019. Nationwide, average scores are down three points, and 22 states had declines.

In eighth grade math, Tennessee’s proficiency rate also grew, while the national average declined. Tennessee was one of just two jurisdictions with similar scores to 2019. Average scores dropped 9 points.

In fourth grade reading, Tennessee was one of 47 states with no statistical change from 2022. Nonetheless, its scores were up slightly, whereas the nationwide average dropped by two points from 2022 and by five points from 2019.

The small increases in eighth grade reading scores were not statistically different from 2022 or 2019, but again, the small increase stood in contrast to nationwide averages that dropped 5 points since 2019. Tennessee also saw more notable increases in scores among higher-performing students in the 75th percentile.

The relatively strong showing in math, according to state officials, could be tied to the full return to in-person learning, which studies show is especially important for math instruction; Tennessee’s 2021 adoption of new math standards; and the subsequent rollout of math curriculum to align with those standards.

They expect that trend to continue with passage of a 2024 state law spotlighting more analysis of and support for math instruction.

Tennessee was an early adopter of pandemic-era interventions

Tennessee has been held up as a model both for how it managed federal pandemic relief spending — quickly steering money into tutoring, summer learning camps, and afterschool programs aimed at students who had fallen furthest behind — and for its intense focus on early literacy. State test results from 2024 show students there making steady progress since 2021.

The challenge now will be to maintain progress and deploy state funds to replace federal pandemic relief aid that expired last year.

“We still have that obligation at the state level to continue to support districts in as many ways as possible,” said Reynolds, the state’s education chief. She cited free professional development resources provided to school systems by her department as one example.

“Local school officials also knew that the money was ending, so they’ve been building in their own sustainability practices to keep the work going,” she said.

White, the state lawmaker and NAEP official, said the state’s controversial 2021 third-grade reading intervention and retention law was a key part of the mix. It pushed children whose families might have opted for summer breaks into summer learning programs and motivated schools to increase support for struggling readers.

“If a child is not reading proficiently in third grade, we want to really understand why and not just pass them on,” he said.

State officials already are digging into the latest NAEP data on how various student groups performed — to study how they can offer better support.

Tennessee’s growing population of English language learners saw across-the-board improvement, while students with disabilities showed slight decreases.

The national results track with test score trends from the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program, which in 2024 showed that students continued to improve from post-pandemic lows.

The alignment of national and state data is important, said Amy Owen, the state’s senior education policy director, because “it shows that our students will be able to compete with students from across the country when they look at post-secondary and career opportunities.”

“We’re seeing steady increases, which is significant when you think about where our kids were during COVID,” added Reynolds. “Our fourth graders were kindergartners then, our eighth graders were fourth graders.”

Memphis district opts out of separate NAEP assessment

Since 2018, NAEP has also released results for Memphis Shelby County Schools, one of roughly two dozen large urban districts participating in national math and reading tests through the Trial Urban District Assessment program, which is designed to help those districts measure student performance against districts in other large cities.

But last year, leaders of the Memphis district chose not to participate in the program.

White, who represents part of Memphis, said the lack of participation represented a “leadership breakdown” as the district cycled through superintendents.

“That’s sad that we don’t have their scores,” he said. “We can’t continue that trend.”

What is NAEP?

Not every Tennessee fourth-grader or eighth-grader took the national test when the federal government administered the assessments in early 2024.

NAEP tests a nationally representative sample of students in every state. In Tennessee, each of the four assessments was taken by about 1,700-1,800 students in 80-90 schools.

The results, published as the nation’s report card, allow comparisons across states and are an important marker for showing how students are doing over time.

The last three testing cycles happened in 2019, 2022, and most recently in 2024, providing an especially helpful comparison of what students knew before the pandemic and how much they have rebounded from COVID-related learning disruptions.

Erica Meltzer is Chalkbeat’s national editor based in Colorado. Contact Erica at emeltzer@chalkbeat.org.

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

The cost estimate of Gov. Bill Lee’s sweeping state immigration enforcement plan fell dramatically in the space of a few hours this week.

On Monday, a fiscal note for the plan placed the cost at more than $20 million. By Tuesday, the price tag had dropped to a little over $5 million.

The reduction came from lowering the amount in grants that are proposed for local sheriffs and police departments to implement so-called 287(g) programs, which allow local law enforcement officers to enforce U.S. immigration violations in coordination with the federal government.

‘Tennessee is heeding the call’: Lee presses forward on immigration agenda in special session

A spokesperson for Lee said Tuesday the reduction was made to align with the goals of the governor and Republican leadership.

“The fiscal note was adjusted to reflect the intent of Gov. Lee and legislative leadership’s proposal to appropriate $5 million in non-recurring grant funds,” said Elizabeth Johnson, Lee’s press secretary.

“We will continue to monitor future needs as local jurisdictions partner with the State of Tennessee to implement President Trump’s federal immigration policies.”

The governor’s plan calls for unprecedented state involvement in immigration enforcement — long a federal responsibility — and coordination between the state and federal authorities to detain and deport undocumented immigrants.

The governor’s plan includes establishing a four-person “centralized immigration enforcement division” to administer grants to law enforcement agencies and liaise with the Trump Administration. The price tag for the office — about $500,000— remained unchanged in the downward revision of the estimated cost of the bill.

The governor’s bill, largely embraced by Tennessee’s GOP leadership, sailed quickly through legislative committees on Tuesday and will be heard again Wednesday. An effort to remove a provision of the bill that would make it a crime for local elected officials to vote in favor of sanctuary policies for immigrants – proposed by Senate Judiciary Chair Sen. Todd Gardenhire, a Republican – was swiftly defeated.

The Tennessee State Duals go down on Saturday, February 1. The top teams in the TSSAA will battle to be crowned team state champions. Archives will be available on FloWrestling immediately following the conclusion of each match. Follow the results by refreshing this article. We’ll be updating it throughout the event.

Tennessee State Duals Brackets

TSSAA boys Dual State Championship brackets are available here.

TSSAA girls Dual State Championship brackets are available here.

Division II AAA Semifinal Matchups

Baylor School vs Christian Brothers

McCallie School vs Father Ryan

Division I AA Quarterfinal Matchups

Cleveland vs Ravenwood

Collierville vs Dobyns Bennett

Summit vs Houston

Bradley Central vs Knoxville

Division I A Quarterfinal Matchups

Soddy Daisy vs Anderson County

Station Camp vs Millington Central

Pigeon Forge vs Munford

Signal Mountain vs Tullahoma

Girls Division Quarterfinal Matchups

Cleveland vs Maryville

West Creek vs Blackman

Knoxville Halls vs Bradley Central

Riverdale vs Clarksville