The Tennessee Report Card is an annual announcement that details how each district and school is meeting the requirements of No Child Left Behind and state education achievement standards.

This year’s report reflects significantly increased academic standards the state has adopted as part of it Race to the Top initiative and the Tennessee Diploma Project. Despite the increased standards, only one Rutherford County school — Rock Springs Middle School — has been marked for needing improvement on this year’s report out of the district’s current 45 schools.

“Ultimately, the more rigorous standards will better prepare our students for life after high school and so we welcome the changes, even if it means more challenges for us now,” Director of Schools Harry Gill said. “We’ve done well on the report but there are areas that need improving. We are exploring ways to give additional time and support to those students who need them to be successful.”

As a district, Rutherford County Schools’ status is considered “Good Standing” for meeting the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act.

In achievement, Rutherford County Schools received A’s for Math, Reading/Language Arts and Social Studies. The district received a B for achievement in science. The district received all A’s in writing for the grades that are tested, which include third, eighth and 11th grades.

In addition, Oakland High School met the requirements for graduation rate. The school previously had been listed as “High Priority” and classified as “School Improvement II - Improving” for not meeting graduation rate requirements for two consecutive years. Oakland’s graduation rate is now 91 percent (2009), which is up from 85.7 percent in 2008.

The report also shows all K-5 and Title I schools met all academic benchmarks established by the federal and state levels.

Rock Springs Middle School in Smyrna has been classified as “School Improvement I” for not meeting the academic requirements in math for one subgroup of students — Students with Disabilities — for two consecutive years.

In addition, Central Middle School did not meet all academic standards. However, Central Middle School no longer exists in its previous form because the school was converted to a magnet school beginning with the 2010-2011 school year. As such, the scores on the Report Card are no longer applicable.

For Value-Added, Rutherford County Schools scored a B in Social Studies and C’s in Math, Reading/Language Arts and Science. Value-Added is an assessment system the state uses to measure learning gains for students based on previous years.

Although the school will not be labeled for improvement this year, the report shows the 2009-2010 graduation rate for LaVergne High School fell to 77.5 percent, which does not meet the graduation rate benchmarks set by the state.

The school district has made changes at the school already to begin correcting the deficiencies, including changing the administration team at the school and offering more opportunities for students to earn credits toward graduation.

Director of Schools Harry Gill and the assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, Don Odom, will give a more detailed overview of Rutherford County Schools’ results at an upcoming Board of Education meeting.