Every summer, Tennessee families receive another round of TCAP scores. The conversations that follow are familiar. Some argue that public education simply needs more funding. Others say schools need more time. Still others contend that expanding educational choice somehow weakens public education.
This year's results from one Nashville school suggest we should be asking a different question.
Nashville Classical Charter Schools, a public charter school network serving many economically disadvantaged students and students with disabilities, posted some of the strongest academic gains in the state.
Nashville Classical East's remarkable TCAP scores
Most remarkable was Nashville Classical East's third-grade English Language Arts proficiency rate of 81.4%.That is more than double Metro Nashville Public
Schools' rate of 35.5%and nearly twice the statewide average of 44.9%.
If Nashville Classical East were its own school district, that score would rank first among Tennessee's 141 public school districts.
Those results were not an isolated bright spot. Across grades three through eight, English Language Arts proficiency climbed from 47% to 57.7%, while math proficiency increased from 46% to 51.5%.
These are extraordinary results by any measure. They are even more remarkable because they were achieved in a Title I public school serving many students who have traditionally faced greater academic challenges.
The success of Nashville Classical should be celebrated, but it also points to something much bigger than one school.
Why educational choice matters
For years, the debate over school choice has been framed as a choice between supporting public education or supporting alternatives to it. That has always been a false choice.
Tennessee has outstanding traditional public schools, charter schools, magnet schools and private schools. The goal of education policy should not be to protect one type of school over another. It should be to create more great schools.
Parents are not focused on governance structures or education policy. They are focused on whether their child is learning to read, mastering math, gaining confidence and preparing for a successful future. Those outcomes, not the name on the front of the building, are what matter.
That is why educational choice matters.
No single educational model will ever be the right fit for every student. Families are different. Children are different. Schools are different. Giving parents meaningful choices recognizes that simple reality.
In education, competition creates excellence
Educational choice also benefits more than the families who exercise it.
Competition has always been one of the strongest drivers of excellence. In nearly every aspect of American life, competition encourages innovation, rewards success and raises expectations. Public education should be no different.
When families have meaningful educational options, every school has a greater incentive to improve. Successful schools become models worth emulating. Effective teaching practices spread. Innovation is rewarded. High expectations become the norm instead of the exception. The result is stronger schools across the board, whether they are district, charter, magnet or private.
Tennessee has spent the past two decades expanding educational opportunitiesin thoughtful ways. Magnet schools have created specialized academic pathways. Charter schools have pioneered innovative approaches, particularly in urban communities. Career and technical education has connected students with meaningful workforce opportunities.
More recently, Education Freedom Scholarshipshave given additional families the opportunity to choose the educational environment that best fits their children's needs.
Not every family will make the same choice, and they shouldn't.
The point is that families should have meaningful choices. And as schools compete to earn the trust of parents, every child stands to benefit.
What every Tennessee child deserves
The success of Nashville Classical is not an argument against traditional public schools, nor is it proof that charter schools are the answer for every student. It is evidence that outstanding schools can exist in many different forms and that Tennessee should continue encouraging excellence wherever it is found.
When a Title I public charter school produces reading scores that would lead every public school district in Tennessee, our first reaction should not be skepticism. It should be curiosity.
What are they doing differently?
What can other schools learn from their success?
How can we create more schools that achieve similar results?
Those are the questions that move education forward.
Every Tennessee child deserves access to a school that challenges them, believes in them and prepares them for the future. The stronger our schools become, and the more opportunities parents have to choose the school that best fits their child, the stronger Tennessee's future will be.
Because educational choice is not ultimately about schools.
It is about children.
Tara Scarlett is CEO of the Scarlett Family Foundation, where she leads efforts to expand educational and workforce opportunities for Middle Tennessee students. She also serves as chairman of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC), helping advance higher education opportunities and outcomes for students across the state.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: This Nashville charter out-performs every TN school district | Opinion
