Bonny Kate Elementary welcomes students for Knox County first day of school
Knox County Schools kicked of the new school year on August 7, welcoming students back with high fives and smiles to celebrate the first day.
Knox County Schools has made significant improvements on the individual school level, with 42 schools earning high marks in the “school letter grades” announced by the Tennessee Department of Education.
The department released the grades Dec. 19 in its 2024-2025 State Report Card. Twenty of Knox County’s schools received an “A,” and 22 schools received a “B,” which together represent more than half of the 81 schools graded in the county.
Below that, 28 schools received a “C,” 10 schools received a “D,” and one school received an “F.”
The department also graded Emerald Academy and Knoxville Preparatory in its report, but KCS doesn’t include the charter schools within its district figures.
KCS decreased the number of schools receiving grades of “D” or “F” this year, and the overall grades “highlight the incredible work happening in classrooms every day,” Superintendent Jon Rysewyk said in a news release.
KCS also has moved up a rung in the state’s rankings to become an “Advancing” district, one of the highest designations for schools in the state, with the achievement marking the district’s growth as leaders focus on the district’s four priorities.
KCS noted 44.1% of KCS students scored “proficient” on English Language Arts assessments in every grade that tested for the 2024-2025 school year, the fourth year in a row that the district has improved in testing subjects based on Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program data released in June.
How are schools graded by Tennessee Department of Education?
School letter grades are a product of student scores on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Tests, students’ academic growth from the previous year and how much the school’s lowest-performing students grew academically in the last year.
For high schools, the grades also take into account college and career readiness.
Tennessee isn’t the only state using a letter grade system. A Tennessee Department of Education official cited Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Texas as other states that assign schools grades.
The grading system was established by a 2016 law, but its launch was delayed until 2023.
“We know our schools can’t be summed up in a single score or letter grade, but it does show the impact of staying focused on the practices we know accelerate learning,” Rysewyk said in the news release.
Knox County Schools letter grades
Schools getting an ‘A’
- A.L. Lotts Elementary
- Bearden High School
- Blue Grass Elementary
- Brickey McCloud Elementary
- Career Magnet Academy
- Farragut High School
- Farragut Intermediate
- Farragut Middle School
- Gap Creek Elementary
- Gibbs Elementary
- Hardin Valley Academy
- Hardin Valley Elementary
- Hardin Valley Middle School
- L&N STEM Academy
- Northshore Elementary School
- Pleasant Ridge Elementary
- Powell Middle School
- Shannondale Elementary
- West High School
- West Valley Middle School
Schools getting a ‘B”
- Amherst Elementary School
- Ball Camp Elementary
- Beaumont Magnet
- Bonny Kate Elementary
- Carter High School
- Cedar Bluff Elementary
- Central High School
- Christenberry Elementary
- Corryton Elementary
- East Knox Elementary
- Emerald Academy*
- Fountain City Elementary
- Halls Elementary
- Halls High School
- Karns Elementary
- Karns High School
- Karns Middle School
- Mt Olive Elementary
- Powell Elementary
- Powell High School
- Sequoyah Elementary
- South Knox Elementary
- Whittle Springs Middle School
Schools getting a ‘C’
- Adrian Burnett Elementary
- Austin-East Magnet High School
- Bearden Elementary
- Bearden Middle School
- Carter Elementary
- Cedar Bluff Middle School
- Chilhowee Intermediate
- Copper Ridge Elementary
- Dogwood Elementary
- Gibbs High School
- Gibbs Middle School
- Gresham Middle School
- Halls Middle School
- Holston Middle School
- Knox County Virtual School
- Mill Creek Elementary School
- Mooreland Heights Elementary
- New Hopewell Elementary
- Northwest Middle School
- Pond Gap Elementary
- Ritta Elementary
- Rocky Hill Elementary
- South Doyle High School
- South Doyle Middle School
- Spring Hill Elementary
- Sterchi Elementary
- West Haven Elementary
- West Hills Elementary
Schools getting a ‘D’
- Belle Morris Elementary
- Carter Middle School
- Fulton High School
- Green Magnet Math and Science Academy
- Inskip Elementary
- Knoxville Preparatory*
- Lonsdale Elementary
- Maynard Elementary
- Norwood Elementary
- Vine Middle Magnet
- West View Elementary
The only F grade school is Sarah Moore Greene Magnet Technology Academy.
Eleven schools aren’t eligible to receive grades, including Cedar Bluff Preschool, Farragut Primary and Knox Adaptive Education Center.
*The Tennessee Department of Education graded the charter schools Emerald Academy and Knoxville Preparatory, but KCS did not include the schools within its graded school figures for the district.
Keenan Thomas is the higher education reporter for Knox News. Email: keenan.thomas@knoxnews.com.
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