Backlash prompts update to graduation requirements report

The Tennessee Department of Education on Thursday clarified its findings in a recent report that found one in three high school students graduated without meeting the state's requirements after it received considerable backlash from superintendents across the state.

In a memo, the department said it didn’t do enough to provide proper context behind the numbers. The new analysis said the state found no systematic violation of graduation requirements happening in the state.

Updated High School Report | School Counselor

“We recognize the report did not do enough to convey the extent to which districts and schools have been and are working to meet state policy on graduation requirements,” Tennessee Education Commissioner Candice McQueen said in a letter to districts. It was co-written with Wayne Miller, executive director of the Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents.

The updated findings provide some redemption for Tennessee’s superintendents after serious questions arose over whether districts were allowing a third of students to graduate without proper credits.

State says 1 in 3 high school grads don't meet requirements

Many school directors said they felt blindsided by the report after the state didn’t consult with them on the results.

"Many of us were disappointed not to get the opportunity to reconcile any disputes before (the report) was published," Bristol Tennessee City Schools director Gary Lilly said.

The report, released in January, said that in 28 percent of public high schools, more than half of the graduates in 2015 didn't meet all of their course requirements, which include specific math, science and social studies classes. The majority of the students listed in the report were missing two required foreign language credits or specific social studies requirements.

The state added an addendum to the report saying there were valid reasons why a third of its students weren’t meeting certain requirements. The reasons include a mix of incorrect course code entry, waivers for course requirements and human error.

"The one third of students who did not show as having met graduation requirements were spread equally across the three categories, each at approximately 11 percent of the total number of graduates," McQueen said in a Wednesday email. "So, about 11 percent of students were accounted for in data entry error, about 11 percent received a waiver, and about 11 percent missed the course or substituted an unapproved course for some reason."

One problem arose from the state’s course code software, the updated report said.

“For example, we see special education or dual enrollment substitutions that do not allow us to identify the course the student is substituting, in part because past department guidance on these points has been unclear,” the report says. “The result of this is that students enrolled in legitimate substituting courses were not coded as such.”

In some cases there were also approved waivers that couldn’t be correctly tallied for various reasons.

The report also found a possibly problematic 11 percent of students substituted or missed certain required courses.

The report says the “incorrect course substitutions … violate the letter but not the spirit of state policy.”

The course code and waiver issues were central to the argument superintendents made when the report was released.

Bill Heath, Lincoln County Schools director, said the original findings of the report were incorrect, especially when the state allows for certain exceptions.

One exception, for example, might be if a student waived a foreign language class to take a technical education class such as welding to gain a certificate, he said.

“I am not blaming anybody for the mistake,” Heath said. “I understand the researchers are looking at raw data, and I believe the message they wanted to get out in the “Seamless Pathways” report is guidance counselors need more help and guidance to make sure students are on the right track.”

“I’m afraid intent and message had been lost in this issue.”

Reach Jason Gonzales at 615-259-8047 and jagonzales@tennessean.com or follow on Twitter @ByJasonGonzales.