Coffee County superintendent reports mixed TISA results; Hickerson Elementary singled out

Coffee County schools provided a quarterly update on Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) accountability on July 14, reporting districtwide gains in some measures but shortfalls in others. Doctor Cornelius, director of schools, told the Coffee County Board of Education that the district’s third-grade ELA proficiency for the year was 34.4%, below the district goal of 42.5% and short of the state’s long-term target. “We did not meet that goal,” Cornelius said, and he noted a 0.9 percentage-point increase from the previous year. The update highlighted an outlier: Hickerson Elementary posted a 51.4% third-grade ELA proficiency rate. Cornelius credited “laser focus interventions,” teacher data chats and targeted work on the writing portion of the third-grade exam for the school’s gains. “They far exceeded their proficiency rate,” he said. On high-school measures, Cornelius described the ReadyGrad indicator for the 2024 graduating cohort as “really good” and said the district’s unofficial ReadyGrad figure would yield high points under that metric, though his numbers were not official. He explained that ReadyGrad lags by a year and that the state’s ReadyGrad and graduation calculations are subject to final, August decisions by the Tennessee Department of Education. Eighth-grade ELA “stayed the same” at 25.4%, below the state average of 29.6%, Cornelius said. Eighth-grade math rose slightly to 32.5% against a district goal of 35.5 and a state average of 36.2%. Cornelius also reviewed TISA funding mechanics, CTE weighting differences and cautioned that some state or federal changes could affect bonus funding tied to TISA in coming years. “I believe that probably the TISA outcome bonus may disappear,” he said, noting this was a personal view rather than a confirmed state decision. Board members asked clarifying questions about state averages and statutory goals. Cornelius said the only codified statewide target discussed in the meeting was the third-grade ELA goal of 70% proficiency by 2030, and that other targets can shift by cohort and year. The superintendent and board signaled continued attention to interventions and monitoring; Cornelius indicated heat-map release and final accountability designations would come in August and could affect “reward school” determinations.