EPAS Equals Big Success for Tennessee School System

And answer, they did. Since 2002, Knox County has exceeded state averages on the percentage of middle school students meeting college readiness benchmarks. They have also dramatically increased enrollment in honors and advanced placement courses. And students have earned the highest ACT scores in the history of the district, including those of minorities (see chart below).

EPAS has also given teachers the evidence they need of the relationship between rigor and achievement. Compelling data are a strong argument for keeping students on an honors track, for instance. As Dr. Mike Winstead, director of curriculum and accountability for Knox County, explained, "In eleventh and twelfth grades, we tend to see a lot of course drop-off, as students don't take high quality rigorous courses. EPAS results help us set expectations." And though getting students to take more rigorous courses is still a battle with a few students and parents, Winstead said it is becoming easier for teachers and counselors to get students to stretch and to move them into upper-level, challenging courses.

Establishing rigor is especially important in Tennessee, where students scoring 21 and higher on the ACT qualify for the state's lottery scholarship program. "If students take the courses we recommend based on their projected scores, we can assure their parents that they have a better chance of getting the scholarship and graduating from college," said Wright.

Knox County school officials became interested in EPAS when they realized they were short on data at the high school level. "We had plenty of data for elementary and middle school, but didn't have a good handle on how students were doing academically between middle and high school," said Winstead.

The county has 12 high schools enrolling about 15,000 students, so it was imperative for administrators to have sufficient data in order to evaluate the effectiveness of their middle school program. As one of the first states to require a high school exit test, Tennessee boasts high numbers of students who take the ACT. In fact, nearly 75 percent of Knox County students take the ACT each year. That's all good, but as Winstead said, "we needed to know before the ACT how students were doing—what was working for us academically and what wasn't."

By fall 2001, school officials had begun implementing EXPLORE in the eighth grade, and two years later, PLAN in the tenth grade. It was rough going initially. "Some principals and teachers were against EXPLORE at first because it took away instructional time. They felt we already had enough data," said Winstead. But, over a period of time—and with the help of ACT staff—the school system was able to build support among administrators at the middle and high school levels, said Wright. Officials educated instructional supervisors in all the core academic areas about the use and benefit of EPAS.

In addition to gaining support from teachers, parents, and students, the district has attracted attention from the local business community. The Knoxville Chamber is touting Knox County Schools' "dramatic and impressive" results from EXPLORE and PLAN in a campaign on the importance of improving education. The Chamber's President and CEO, Michael Edwards, is writing articles, giving speeches, and meeting with education and business officials. The Chamber's goal is to inspire businesspeople to demand that local and state educational systems be dramatically improved, calling it a matter of "business survival."

Winstead said ACT programs are particularly useful because they offer a "three-prong assessment approach, providing relevant information that informs decision making at the individual, school, and district levels."

At the student level, Knox County can use EPAS scores to help students and their parents plan their high school courses. Through identification of strengths and weaknesses, EPAS also helps students select electives that match their educational and career goals.

EPAS is helping Knox County school officials:

• Frame the curriculum. Staff develops and refines courses based on EPAS results. The data have also helped Knox County align its curriculum with state standards.
• Provide a baseline for high school. School officials use the results to evaluate their eighth-grade program to make sure students are on track for being college ready. EXPLORE serves as a "final report card" for middle school and provides a baseline for students as they start high school and determines their placement in programs such as honors and advanced courses.
• Strengthen collaboration among teachers and administrators. Each of Knox County's 14 middle schools and 12 high schools has a data team involving the principal, assistant principal, and three teachers that meets once in fall and spring to review data and to take that information back to their individual schools.

Knox County now has hard data that help administrators monitor student progress, evaluate the school system's college readiness standards, get the rigor at the right level, structure high school planning, and make appropriate recommendations to parents.

Five-Year Trends—Percent of Knox County Students Meeting College Readiness Benchmarks