The Scene Spoils Metro's Fun

The Nashville Scene's Bruce Barry puts into context Metro Schools' rising test scores and warns Nashvillians not to be too optimistic about the state of public education in the city. Bruce writes:

Metro test scores are up, but so are statewide averages. The rise is genuine in the sense that the score jumps are sizeable, but the one-year gains in Nashville mask multiyear trends that are far less impressive and in some cases alarmingly weak. State and local scores are rising while reliable national measures are flat, which seriously calls into question the persuasiveness of state gains. It all makes heaps of test-performance praise for Pedro Garcia and his staff seem like an impulsive rush to judgment.