The Tennessee Department of Education has released its annual Report Card on school districts and schools, and the report shows Rutherford County Schools continues to be a leader in education.

Earlier this year, the state named Rutherford County Schools as one of only 21 “Exemplary” school districts and named six Rutherford schools as “Reward Schools” for scoring in the top 5% in achievement, growth in student gains or both. Today’s Report Card contains the data to support those accolades.

The 2012 Report Card is difficult to compare to previous years because the new report reflects the first year of the state’s waiver from the No Child Left Behind Act. Tennessee now operates under a new accountability system, which has been approved by the federal government.

“The credit for our results should go to principals, teachers, students and parents,” Director of Schools Don Odom said. “Our schools would not be successful without the commitment of our educators and their expertise. It’s a team effort that requires students to apply themselves and families to reinforce at home the importance of education.”

Highlights of Rutherford County Schools’ performance on the Report Card include:

· The district earned all A’s for achievement, which includes grades 3-8 and writing for third, fifth and 11th grades.

· Two A’s and two B’s for value-added learning gains

· A graduation rate of 90.7%

· For math, grades 3-8, the district saw a 7.7% increase in those scoring proficient or advanced

· For reading/language arts, grades 3-8, the district saw a 4.7% increase in those scoring proficient or advanced

· For Algebra I, the district saw a 11.8% increase in those scoring proficient or advanced

· All “Safe Schools” deemed by the state

· Average per pupil funded decreased. The district received $1,025 less per pupil than the state average, which is down from $989 less than the average per pupil expenditure on the 2011 report

“I’m proud of our accomplishments but we can’t rest on our laurels,” Director Odom said. “The next hurdle for our schools will be transitioning to Common Core, which requires teachers and students to apply skills in the classroom to real world problems. Using Professional Learning Communities will be essential to making the transition successful, and we plan to offer additional PLC training opportunities for our principals and teachers.”

Odom will deliver a presentation about the Report Card and other district measures to the Rutherford County Board of Education later in November. To view the entire Report Card for Rutherford County or individual schools, go to www.tn.gov/education.