Overton County Schools designated as “In Need of Improvement” from the Tennessee Department of Education, after an analysis of last year’s testing data.
A school district receives the designation if its overall score falls in the bottom five percent of all districts. Eight school districts across the state received the designation.
In a statement, Overton County Director of Schools Kim Dillon said four out of seven schools in the district showed significant improvement, with two schools coming off the Targeted Support and Improvement list. Dillon said the school system received the designation not because the school system’s scores dropped, but because the district’s scores did not improve as much as other districts.
Dillon said the point scale the district received was still in the satisfactory range, as it was in the previous school year. Dillon said the schools and district is doing the right things, as noticed in the improvement of scores in several schools.
Dillon said she expects scores will continue to improve.
Dillon would not take questions on the designation and its impact on the school system.