NASHVILLE — For the fifth year in a row, Valor’s middle and high school scholars across socioeconomic lines performed exceptionally well in both academic achievement and academic growth.
According to data from TNReady, the state’s achievement test, and Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS), a measure of academic growth, Valor inverted the achievement gap again in 2019 for the fifth year in a row, as the network’s economically disadvantaged students outperformed non-economically disadvantaged students across the state.
56.4 percent of economically disadvantaged students at Valor are on-track (ELA & Math). Compare that to 45.7 percent of non-economically disadvantaged students in Tennessee, who are considered on-track and 21.7 percent of economically disadvantaged students in Tennessee overall, who are considered on-track
Even more compelling, when you add in other sub-groups that are historically low-performing (special education, English learners, students of color and economically disadvantaged – known as the Supergroup) Valor’s percentage of on-track jumps to 59 percent (meaning the Supergroup inverts the achievement gap as well, outperforming non-ED across the State)
Valor’s Top 4 TNReady & TVAAS Highlights:
- All of Valor’s schools were named TN Rewards Schools, with Voyager and Flagship receiving this honor for the second year in a row! VCP & Flagship are jointly awarded this honor since they are under the same charter.
- For the second year in a row, Flagship is No. 1 in the state in overall composite growth (math, ELA, social studies)
- Voyager is No. 1 middle school in the state in literacy and numeracy composite growth
- Valor College Prep is the No. 1 open-enrollment high school in MNPS and the 4th best open-enrollment high school in Tennessee (out of 351 high schools), according to the state’s end-of-course achievement metric.
It is important to stress how rare it is for schools to achieve so highly in both achievement AND growth. Valor’s three schools are in the top 2% of all middle and high schools in the State for both categories. There are less than five schools in the state who rank so highly in both categories, and all are either selective magnets or are in affluent suburbs.
“Valor began six years ago with the mission to empower our diverse community to live inspired and purposeful lives,” said Todd Dickson, founder and CEO of Valor Collegiate Academies. “Providing our scholars and families with a top-notch academic experience is central to delivering on that mission. We are proud that Valor, with approximately 55% of our scholars qualifying for Free and Reduced lunch, and 11% of our students qualifying for special needs, competes academically with the very best schools in the state of Tennessee. The combination of a strong academic program and a strong SEL program, executed in a diverse community, is really powerful and has a big impact on our kid’s life trajectories.”