11/03/09 - Madison County

School District Receives Report Card
By: Jonquil Newland
jnewland@wbbjtv.com
9:30 p.m.
 
The Tennessee Department of Education released the 2009 report card, however a review of the Jackson-Madison County School District's scores shows grades that no parent would be proud of. "We received D's across the board," Superintendent Nancy Zambito said.
 
Based on the previous year's TCAP scores, the district received D's in both academic achievement and academic growth. "It does not take away the upward slope of the achievement that we saw last year, but it does say that we have got a new scale. It is a higher scale and we will master it," said Zambito.
 
In past years, a basic understanding of a subject was considered proficient. However, The Tennessee Diploma Project has set new standards. A student must master more difficult concepts to be considered proficient.
 
"I think it is a reflection of where we are right now, not where we can be," said Brad Greer, an active father of three in the school district. He does not blame the new grading system for the low scores.
 
"The students, the parents, the principals, the teachers, they all watch a school board that is dysfunctional. Until we make the changes there, I do not think we are going to be able to climb educationally where we need to climb," Greer said.
 
Greer does not believe the tougher grading scale is a bad thing. According to him, it sheds light, not on students' shortcomings, but on the district and what it could be doing to better prepare students for the future.
 
"When you change that and your grades go down, it is obvious that you were teaching to the test, you were not teaching towards a well rounded education," Greer said.
 
The Jackson-Madison County NAACP Branch released a statement concerning the report card, "This report validates what the Jackson-Madison County NAACP Branch has been saying for several years, that the Jackson-Madison County School System has not showed the ability to successfully educate our children to the best of their abilities."
 
Dr. Zambito will hold a town hall meeting on Nov. 10, at the Jackson Career and Technology Magnet School. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m., and is open for parents and the public to ask questions and voice their concerns.