2025–2026 State Testing Data: CMCSS Achieves Historic Performance Milestones Across District
November 12, 2026
Following the state lifting its official data embargo, the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System (CMCSS) is celebrating a landmark year of academic growth and achievement. For the 2025-2026 school year, CMCSS maintained a Level 5 District Composite, the highest score possible in the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS), for the third consecutive year. This marks only the second time in CMCSS history, previously in 2016, that the district has sustained a three-year streak at the state’s highest growth tier. Additionally, 24 CMCSS schools earned the state’s highest possible composite growth rating, Level 5. This is an increase from 17 schools in 2024-2025 and a significant increase from only two Level 5 schools in 2020-2021.
“This TVAAS data reflects the extraordinary focus, determination, and hard work of our educators, students, administrators, support staff, and families across CMCSS,” said Dr. Jean Luna-Vedder, Director of Schools. “As I visit schools each week, I see the incredible teaching and learning occurring across the district, so I know these sustained improvements in our data reflect hard work, not luck. Our priority from my first day in July 2022 has been for CMCSS to be the best school system in the state for students, families, and employees, and by working collaboratively, we continue moving CMCSS in the right direction.”
Other Key Highlights from the 2025–2026 TVAAS Data:
- A record 95.2% of CMCSS schools met or exceeded state growth expectations (scoring at Level 3, 4, or 5 composite), surpassing the previous record of 91.7% achieved in the 2014-2015 school year.
- For the first time in CMCSS’ history, zero schools scored a Level 1 composite (the lowest growth designation).
- For the first time in district history, 100% of middle and high schools met or exceeded state growth expectations, with no middle or high schools scoring in Levels 1 or 2 composite.
- CMCSS secondary schools achieved a combined mean growth score of 4.65, the highest secondary mean in district history, besting the previous record of 4.27 set in 2014–2015.
- The district-wide mean school score reached 4.21, placing 2025–2026 among the single strongest overall growth years on record, just under the 2014–2015 record of 4.28.
- Six schools made incredible strides, rising from Level 1 composite in 2024-2025 to Level 5 composite in 2025-2026, and 31% of schools improved by two or more levels from last year.
CMCSS TVAAS 4-Year Trajectory
| 25-26 | 24-25 | 23-24 | 22-23 | |
| Composite | 5 | 5 | 5 | 2 |
| Literacy | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Numeracy | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Literacy and Numeracy | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Science | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Social Studies | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
“These outstanding results prove that our intentional focus on teaching and learning is driving growth and achievement in our schools, which will positively impact outcomes for students and our entire community,” said Dr. Schanda Doughty, Chief Academic Officer. “We remain focused on our opportunities for refinement, and we will continue supporting educators, administrators, students, and families with the resources and training to continue our upward trajectory.”
In addition to exceptional student growth metrics, CMCSS students outperformed state proficiency averages across all subject areas and made significant gains in proficiency in almost every tested area, with an average gain of 10.93% over the 4-year period.
CMCSS 2025-2026 Proficiency Compared to State Averages
| CMCSS | State Avg. | |
| Overall ELA | 44.10% | 42.30% |
| Overall Math | 41.40% | 40.90% |
| Overall Science | 54.50% | 47.30% |
| Overall Social Studies | 58.90% | 50.00% |
CMCSS Proficiency 4-Year Trajectory
| Year | Math | Algebra 1 | Algebra 2 | Geometry | ELA | English I | English 2 | Social Studies | US History |
| 2026 | 42.1% | 31.3% | 39.5% | 48.7% | 42.3% | 35.4% | 64.6% | 59.0% | 58.3% |
| 2022 | 36.0% | 14.3% | 23.1% | 22.5% | 36.7% | 36.3% | 51.5% | 55.3% | 47.1% |
| 2022-2026 | +6.1% | +17.0% | +16.4% | +26.2% | +5.6% | -0.9% | +13.1% | +3.7% | +11.2% |
Level 5 Schools
CMCSS proudly commends the 24 individual schools that earned the state’s highest possible Level 5 composite growth score for the 2025–2026 school year:
- Barkers Mill Elementary
- Barksdale Elementary
- Byrns Darden Elementary
- Carmel Elementary
- Cumberland Heights Elementary
- East Montgomery Elementary
- Kirkwood Elementary
- Norman Smith Elementary
- Pisgah Elementary
- Sango Elementary
- West Creek Elementary
- Kirkwood Middle
- Montgomery Central Middle
- New Providence Middle
- Northeast Middle
- West Creek Middle
- Clarksville High
- Kenwood High
- Kirkwood High
- Middle College at APSU
- Montgomery Central High
- Northeast High
- Northwest High
- Rossview High
As the Tennessee Department of Education continues to release additional accountability data, school and district designations, and the official state report card letter grades over the coming weeks, CMCSS will provide further updates on its upward trajectory.