Scores Galore: TCAP, NAEP, and PISA
Between 2022 and 2025, Tennessee was one of the fastest-improving states in terms of reading and math proficiency in the country, which was certainly driven by the successes of school districts like those mentioned above. For the first time ever, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) showed Tennessee in the top half of states in proficiency in 2024.
Although parts of the country are finally reaching or even exceeding pre-COVID-19 proficiency levels, the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), administered globally to 15-year-olds, shows us that our national scores are lagging behind. Reading and Math scores have both fallen in recent years.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll look at model school districts in Shelby County to discover how other districts can learn from their success.
Away from the Spotlight
The new officials sworn in this week and the under-the-radar ways they affect your life and work.
A Statement on State Intervention in MSCS
For more than a decade, Seeding Success has worked alongside Memphis-Shelby County Schools, families, educators, and community partners with one goal in mind: improving outcomes for children.
That commitment has never changed. What has changed is our understanding of what it will take to make the progress our students deserve.
Mental Health Concerns at MSCS
Memphis-Shelby County Schools is suffering a critical lack of school psychologists to help address the mental health struggles of students. With four in ten Tennessee high school students reporting feelings of persistent sadness or hopelessness and two in ten reporting having seriously considered attempting suicide, it’s clear that youth need more support, and current services aren’t cutting it.
How many mental health providers currently work at MSCS? And why are we at risk of losing access to youth mental health data?
Centering the Data on Data Centers
As cities across the U.S. grapple with the rapid revolution of artificial intelligence, Memphis finds itself in the center of the debate over how to balance protecting community needs with the expansion of the Mississippi Delta’s data center alley.
In this update, we examine the proposed moratorium on new AI data centers in Memphis, how SpaceXAI is currently operating in the area, and what considerations and guardrails residents here and across the country are asking for when data centers come to town.