Destination 2025 Monthly: May 2017
Prepared by the Department of Research & Performance Management
Author: Angelica Thompson, Ph.D.

Key Findings






Although there has been a slight decrease in the share of students* participating in Dual
Enrollment (DE) from 2016–17 to 2017–18, there has been a 49.3% growth in this share since
2014–15.
In middle schools, honors course offerings vary with school size, with smaller schools tending to
offer no honors courses, mid-size schools tending to offer 1 to 10 honors courses, and larger
schools tending to offer 11 or more honors courses.
Similarly, high school enrollment is moderately and positively correlated with number of
advanced course offerings (Pearson correlation coefficient = .50).

Overview
May’s key performance indicators (KPIs) are aligned to Destination 2025 Priority 2, Improve PostSecondary Readiness: DE participation and Priority 4, expanding high-quality school options:
advanced course options available by school. This report presents the state of the district in meeting
these KPIs.

Dual-Enrollment Participation
Shelby County Schools (SCS) has DE partnerships with seven local postsecondary institutions:
 Bethel University
 Christian Brothers University,
 LeMoyne Owen College
 Southwest Tennessee Community College
 Tennessee College of Applied Technology
 University of Memphis
 William Moore College of Technology (Moore Tech)
Students participating in SCS’s DE program earn high school credit as well as college credit at one
of the above partnership institutions. The intended benefits of DE include the following:
 Reduce the financial burden of paying for college,
 Shorten the time required to complete an undergraduate degree,
 Provide a wider range of course offerings for high-school students,
 Improve general academic preparedness for college,
 Create a “college mentality” versus “high-school mentality”,
 Instill the desire and ambition to attend college in students who might not have previously seen
college as a viable option (as is often the case with economically disadvantaged students and
students from non-college-educated families),
 Create a seamless transition from high school to college,
 Eliminate the duplication of courses taken in high school and college, and
 Provide access to college resources, facilities, libraries, etc.
SCS employs one DE Advisor to administer its program. She liaises with the district’s college partners,
the staff at participating high schools, and current and potential program participants. She educates
high-school staff and students about the benefits of DE and how to navigate the dual-enrollment

1

 Destination 2025 Monthly: May 2017
Prepared by the Department of Research & Performance Management
process. This includes eligibility requirements, funding parameters, course offerings, required
paperwork, and deadlines. She also speaks with potential students about the differences between
high-school and college expectations to give them a better understanding of what participating in the
program will entail.
Although all eligible1 high school students can participate in the program, DE is primarily aimed at
11th and 12th grade students, with the exception of two schools: Middle College High School and
Hollis F. Price. Unlike other schools, Middle College High offers ninth- and tenth-grade students
funding to participate in the program. At Hollis F. Price, dual-enrollment participation is a
requirement for all students. Consequently, the figures discussed below reflect 11th and 12th grade
student participation, as well as 9th and 10th grade participation in the aforementioned schools.
Participation in the program has risen substantially in the past three years: there has been a 49.3%
growth in the share of students participating since 2014–15 (see Figure 1). Additionally, in 2017–
18, 1,202 students participated in 183 DE courses.

Figure 1. Annual DE Course Offering During School Year
Non-DE
100%

DE

5.3%

8.2%

9.7%

8.6%

94.7%

91.8%

90.3%

91.4%

2014–15

2015–16

2016–17

2017–18

80%
60%
40%
20%
0%

Note: The figures above represent dual-enrollment participation during the school year; however, students
also participate in dual-enrollment in the summer. Additionally, the SAILS curriculum was modified in 2017–
18 resulting in a decline in SAILS students qualifying for DE Statistics in the second semester. Two hundred
fifty-five students transitioned from SAILS to DE in 2016–17, but only 105 students made the transition in
2017–18.

1

Students are eligible to participate if they meet the agreed-upon acceptance requirements established between
their high school and the participating college. These can include earning a minimum course grade, GPA and/or
ACT score.

2

 Destination 2025 Monthly: May 2017
Prepared by the Department of Research & Performance Management
Advanced Course Options Available by School
In addition to DE, SCS offers other types of advanced courses, including honors, Advanced Placement
(AP), and International Baccalaureate (IB)2. In the middle grades, the honor’s program is the only
option available, whereas all four advanced options (honors, DE, AP, and IB) are available at the highschool level.
Several factors affect schools’ ability to offer advanced courses: student interest and ability to handle
the increased rigor of advanced coursework, and the availability of teachers with the required subjectarea knowledge and teaching skills. Additionally, school size is a major determinant of advanced
course availability. Smaller schools are often unable to offer multiple sections of many courses (a
regular section and an advanced section), because there are not enough students or teachers who
meet the requirements. However, some small schools manage to offer more advanced courses than
some large schools. Figures 2 and 3 show the number of advanced course offerings by school size
for middle and high schools, respectively. The relationship between school size and advanced course
offerings is clearly visible.
Note that in the remaining figures and tables, the number of courses offered refers to the number of
unique advanced courses that are available at a given school, not the number of times/sections the
same course is offered for different groups of students. This analysis is meant to convey how many
different types of courses an individual student could access at each school. For example, a high
school may offer Algebra I Honors five times a day to different sections of students, but that course
would only be counted as one course offering that a single student would consider taking.

Figure 2. Number of Honors Courses Offered in Middle Schools 2017–18
0

1-10

11+

15

Number of Schools

14
10
10
7

5

8
6
4

3
0

1
Under 300 Students

300-600 Students

Over 600 Students

School Size

2

SCS also offers CLUE and APEX courses, designed for students identified as intellectually gifted, but these
programs are outside the purview of this report.

3

 Destination 2025 Monthly: May 2017
Prepared by the Department of Research & Performance Management

Figure 3. Number of Advanced Courses Offered in High Schools 2017–18
0

1-20

21-40

41+

Number of Schools

15

10

11
9

10

9

5
4

4

2

0
Under 400 Students

400-800 Students

Over 800 Students

School Size

Of the District’s 53 middle schools, White Station Middle School offers the highest number of
honors courses (21). Thirty percent (15) of middle schools offer 11 or more honors courses, while
42% (21) offer 1–10 honors courses. Thirty-four percent (17) of middle schools do not offer any
honors courses. Three of these are alternative schools, nine are charters, and five are traditional
schools. However, it is important to note that some charter schools use their own student schedule
platforms and may offer honors courses that are not reported centrally to the District. Table 1
provides a list of honors courses at each middle school.

4

 Destination 2025 Monthly: May 2017
Prepared by the Department of Research & Performance Management

Table 1. Number of Honors Courses Offered in Middle Schools 2017–18
Honors Courses 
Middle Schools
A. Maceo Walker Middle
Airways Achievement Academy MS
American Way Middle
Barret's Chapel Middle
Bellevue Middle
Chickasaw Middle
Gordon Achievement Academy MS
Ida B. Wells Academy MS
Colonial Middle
Cordova Middle
Craigmont Middle
Cummings Middle
Dexter Middle
Douglass Middle
City University School Boys Preparatory
City University School Girls Preparatory
E.E. Jeter Middle
Geeter Middle
DuBois Middle School of Arts & Technology
Germantown Middle
DuBois Middle/Leadership & Public Policy
Granville T. Woods Academy of Innovation
Kaleidoscope School of Memphis
Memphis Academy of Health Sciences
Havenview Middle
Hickory Ridge Middle
Highland Oaks Middle
Power Center Academy
J. P. Freeman Middle
Veritas College Preparatory
Kate Bond Middle
Kingsbury Middle
KIPP Memphis Academy Middle
KIPP Memphis Collegiate Middle
Lowrance Middle
5

0

1-10

11+

Honors
Courses

School
Size

9
0
8
5
20
8
0
0
19
18
13
8
3
9
0
0
5
10
0
13
0
0
0
0
11
8
5
0
14
0
15
11
2
1
5

656
173
693
214
554
325
162
95
1078
732
577
149
412
152
64
96
119
287
157
723
181
157
45
277
703
817
707
444
222
150
1137
582
308
221
293

 Destination 2025 Monthly: May 2017
Prepared by the Department of Research & Performance Management
Maxine Smith STEAM Academy
Georgian Hills Middle
Memphis Business Academy
Memphis Grizzlies Preparatory Charter School
Memphis School of Excellence
Mt. Pisgah Middle
Nexus STEM Academy
Oakhaven Middle
Grandview Heights Middle
Raleigh-Egypt Middle
Ridgeway Middle
Hamilton Middle
Sherwood Middle
Snowden Middle
Riverview School
Treadwell Middle
White Station Middle
Woodstock Middle
† Critical Focus School

21
0
7
1
20
6
2
9
0
10
15
0
11
15
0
0
21
3

334
272
426
242
522
476
188
307
472
397
721
248
789
566
240
471
1276
257

The highest number of advanced courses offered by a high school is 143. Of the District’s 49 high
schools, 27% (14) offer 41 or more advanced courses, while 21% (11) offer 21–40. Thirty-eight
percent (20) of high schools offer 1–20 advanced courses and approximately 8% (4) do not offer any
advanced courses. Two of the schools without advanced courses are alternative schools while two
are charter schools. Note again that some charter schools use their own student schedule platforms
and thus may offer advanced courses that are not reported centrally to the District. For a list of high
schools and their advanced offerings, see Table 2 (schools that offer both middle and high grade
levels are included in the list of high schools.).

6

 Destination 2025 Monthly: May 2017
Prepared by the Department of Research & Performance Management

Table 2. Number of Advanced Courses Offered in High Schools 2016–17
Advanced Courses 

0

High Schools

DE

AP

IB

B. T. Washington High
Bolton High
Central High
City University
City University School of Independence
Cordova High
Craigmont High
Douglass High
DuBois High School of Arts & Technology
DuBois High School of Leadership & Public Policy
East High
Freedom Preparatory Academy-Charter School
G.W. Carver College & Career Academy
Gateway University
Germantown High
Hamilton High
Hollis F. Price Middle College
Hope Academy
Kingsbury High
KIPP Memphis Collegiate High
Kirby High
Legacy Leadership Academy
Manassas High
Melrose High
Memphis Academy of Health Sciences High
Memphis Academy of Science & Engineering
Memphis Business Academy High
Memphis Rise Academy
Memphis Virtual School
Middle College High
Mitchell High
Newcomer International Center
Northeast Prep Academy
Northwest Prep Academy

1
5
14
0
0
7
7
3
0
0
0
0
1
2
6
4
13
0
7
0
3
0
4
3
4
1
0
0
0
34
7
0
1
0

0
6
20
0
0
15
5
0
0
0
6
2
0
0
9
0
0
0
13
9
0
0
0
2
0
0
6
0
1
5
0
0
1
0

0
18
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
29
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

7

1-20

21-40

41+

Total
School
Honors Advanced
Size
Courses
20
27
82
11
4
57
27
24
1
1
36
4
0
0
51
14
33
3
25
14
21
0
8
21
9
36
13
7
42
59
19
0
0
0

21
56
116
11
4
79
39
27
1
1
42
6
1
2
95
18
46
3
45
23
24
0
12
26
13
37
19
7
43
98
26
0
2
0

505
999
1478
274
13
2224
824
540
160
123
350
777
233
111
1987
589
109
80
1286
477
901
37
478
562
410
485
461
436
113
282
420
64
227
235

 Destination 2025 Monthly: May 2017
Prepared by the Department of Research & Performance Management
Oakhaven High
Overton High
Power Center Academy High
Raleigh-Egypt High
Ridgeway High
Sheffield High
Southwest Early College High
Southwind High
The Excel Center
The Soulsville Charter School
Trezevant High†
Westwood High†
White Station High
Whitehaven High
Wooddale High†
† Critical Focus School

0
6
0
7
3
1
2
5
0
0
5
4
17
4
2

1
13
6
0
4
1
0
10
0
6
0
1
39
11
2

0
0
0
0
24
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

13
56
27
21
43
14
6
40
0
11
9
12
87
37
26

14
75
33
28
74
16
8
55
0
17
14
17
143
52
30

339
1105
638
588
1206
729
85
1513
306
635
526
353
2149
1545
697

Recommendations






Continue strengthening partnerships with local postsecondary institutions.
Ensure that student prerequisites, teacher qualifications, and grant funding are aligned in order
to expand dual-enrollment course offerings.
Deploy support from the Division of Optional Schools and Advanced Academics Team to help
schools with two important aspects of offering advanced courses:
o identifying students who qualify for advanced options
o building teacher capacity to offer advanced courses—an issue in particular for high-level,
specialized high-school courses
Assist smaller schools in identifying resources to expand advanced course offerings—especially
with regard to staffing, the biggest barrier for small schools’ ability to offer advanced courses.

8