Jump In Metro Public Schools TCAP Scores "Huge" and "Rare For Urban School Districts."

Diane Long at the Tennessean reports this morning that Metro's TCAP scores are in and that they jumped 10 percentage points.

This is definitely crow-worthy news for the supporters of the school board's proposed budget. Advantage: Pedro Garcia, who appeared on 5+ (Channel 50, Comcast) last night at 7:00 p.m. and said that the district could work with the Mayor's proposed budget cut of $541 million. He told Ben Hall that $532 million or lower would cause the district to slash programs. Is he hedging, even with the good TCAP news?

Mayor still looks more moderate, but now there is more pressure on the Metro Council not to impede progress and momentum by approving a budget that underfunds education. All of the conservative advocates of No Child Left Behind's reliance on test scores (who also tend to be opponents of any new taxes) are caught between a rock and a hard place. Council member Eric Crafton's PowerPoint presentation is moot along with already being irrelevant.