OSDE, TPS Report Conflicting Findings About Student Performances

The State Department of Education said Tulsa Public Schools has had failing test scores for more than a decade, but the TPS Superintendent said scores have improved.

Friday, August 11th 2023, 10:12 pm

By: Kaitlyn Deggs

TULSA, Okla. -

The State Department of Education said Tulsa Public Schools has had failing test scores for more than a decade, but the TPS Superintendent said scores have improved.

The State Department of Education released a video that said Tulsa Public Schools ranks in the bottom 1-percent of the largest U.S. school districts when it comes to reading scores.

But TPS Superintendent Deborah Gist said the video is propaganda, and said the district has plans to raise their test scores.

The video was posted to YouTube and shows clips from our previous news stories talking about the district’s low test scores and mismanagement of money.

Editor's Note: No one from the State Department of Education asked for permission to use the copyrighted material from News On 6 for the video. We asked the state superintendent's office to remove any stories from our newscasts as soon as possible.

In 2010, News On 6 reported only 58-percent of TPS eighth graders passed state tested math and only 62-percent passed reading in the previous year.

The way scores are measured have changed, but TPS still ranks below the state average when it comes to “academic achievement.” That’s how the state defines students scoring at a basic level on language, math, and science.

TPS has 8-percent of kids meeting that number, while the state average is almost 50-percent.

By comparison, Oklahoma City Public Schools has 7-percent of students meeting that benchmark.

The State Director for Accreditation, Ryan Pieper, said test scores are not related to a district’s accreditation.

His office has recommended not to pull the district’s accreditation, but for the district to receive an accreditation with deficiencies.

State Superintendent Ryan Walters has said the board will be discussing the district’s accreditation at its meeting later this month.

Gist has said in the past, the complaints from the board are politically motivated and the district is focused on starting the school year on August 17.