The Tennessee Department of Education has given the public access to the school-level results of the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS), which indicates how effective a school is at helping its students learn. However, it is not easy to understand the raw numbers provided by the state, and it is almost impossible to compare the performance of schools and districts across the state. The Education Consumers Foundation has solved this challenge by creating its School Performance Charts, allowing the public to easily compare the performance of schools and districts in Tennessee through an intuitive and easy-to-use chart.  You can see the charts at:

http://www.education-consumers.org/tnproject/spc.htm    

The average amount of achievement gain made by Tennessee students in 1998 is the benchmark or standard against which school effectiveness is currently judged.

The School Performance Charts show which schools are best as seen on a level playing field.  The Growth Standard line crossing the chart represents average annual growth in student achievement in 1998. The bars that deflect downward from the Growth Standard line represent schools that are failing to meet the expected minimum. Bars that deflect upward represent schools that are exceeding the minimum standard. The gap between the 1998 Growth Standard and the current state average reflects the progress in annual student achievement gain made by Tennessee schools since 1998.