Case Study: Bradley County boosts graduation rates and credit recovery with Edmentum's Plato Courseware

No Struggling Student Left Behind

Bradley County School District, a suburban Tennessee district serving about 10,500 K–12 students, faced a pressing challenge at its alternative GOAL Academy and in credit-recovery programs at its high schools: the district’s previous online solution lacked rigor and allowed some students to pass without demonstrating mastery. GOAL Academy serves students who are academically or behaviorally at risk and needed a flexible, standards-based curriculum and reliable benchmarking to return students to grade level or graduation.

The district adopted Edmentum’s Plato Courseware as GOAL Academy’s full curriculum and for credit recovery at the high schools, using Edmentum Assessments Test Packs for benchmarking and flexibility to allow work outside the school day. Results were strong: GOAL Academy graduated every student in its first year of implementation (2011) and posted a 93.9% graduation rate in 2013; districtwide graduation rose from 87.6% to 89.8% (2011–2013), and End of Course proficiency grew—Algebra I scores jumped 29% at Walker Valley and 15% at Bradley Central—while engagement and mastery expectations increased.

Bradley County

David Wilson

History Teacher