The Tennessee Department of Education announced this week that 20 percent of schools in the state received “Reward” status.

Included in the 318 schools that garnered the highest possible designation was Carter County schools Valley Forge and Cloudland Elementary.

To receive the “Reward” distinction, a school must be improving overall in academics for all students and student groups. Reward schools are recognized each year by the Tennessee Department of Education.

“In this first year with our new system, it is incredibly encouraging to see more than 300 of our schools are earning Reward status for how they are supporting our students’ academic achievement and growth,” Tennessee Education Commissioner Candice McQueen said. “At the same time, we see a number of places where we need to improve. Our new school improvement model takes a student-focused, evidence-based approach to tailor interventions for our priority schools, and we will be working closely with these schools and their districts over the coming year to improve academic outcomes and strengthen whole-child services that support student success.” 

The Department of Education also released which schools are considered as priority schools. According to the TDOE, priority schools are schools that are in need of support and improvement, and no Carter County school received that designation. Priority schools are identified every three years.

This year’s Reward schools are the first to be named under the state’s new accountability plan, which, according to the TDOE, was developed through a 16-month process “of gathering feedback and hearing input from students, parents, teachers, administrators, and community members.” The plan includes “a variety of measures, including chronic absenteeism and discipline, ACT performance, and TNReady scores, to make a determination. All schools are rated both on how they serve the full student population and how they are specifically serving student groups that have historically been underserved: students with disabilities, English learners, economically disadvantaged students, and black, Hispanic, and Native American students.”

The new accountability plan was submitted to and approved by the U.S. Department of Education in accordance to the Every Student Succeeds Act.