The Tennessee Department of Education said Monday the letter grades issued in 2009 report cards for school systems and individual schools that will be released next week cannot be compared to those from earlier years.

Department of Education officials said Monday comparisons with data shown in previous report cards can't be made because of "fundamental changes to the calculations used to arrive at "Value Added" and "Achievement" scores for the 2009 Report Card.

The officials were speaking during a conference call with reporters from across the state.

Dr. Joe Parkins, director of Greene County Schools, told the Greene County Board of Education during its Oct. 22 meeting that letter grades on the 2009 report cards are likely to be lower across the state as a result of the fundamental changes to the way the grades are calculated.

Questions from reporters across the state during Monday's conference call indicated that local school officials statewide have been preparing school board members and others for a possible decrease in letter grades on 2009 report cards.

Education officials said letter grades could go down, remain the same or increase depending upon how well students did on standardized tests that were taken last spring.

"The method of calculating scores and the scale used to determine letter grades has been revised to allow for a transition to the new standards and assessments required by the Tennessee Diploma Project," said a press release issued by the state Department of Education.

A presentation made available by the state Department of Education pointed out that in 2007, Tennessee, along with 30 other states, joined the American Diploma Project network "to align our standards and assessments with the knowledge and skills required to produce students who are workplace- and college-ready."

"Our new standards and curriculum, known as the Tennessee Diploma Project, became effective this year for beginning 9th-grade students," the slide presentation said. " In order for the Tennessee Diploma Project to work, properly, we are responsible for making sure that our graduation requirements and test reflect properly that our students are prepared.

"It is for that reason that the Tennessee Department of Education has reset the average baseline comparison for student performance to use 2009 average performance data [instead of 1998 student performance data]."

During the conference call, a Department of Education spokesman described 2009 as a "bridge year" between the use of older educational standards and the use of new standards.

In future years, student performance will be measured against 2009 student performance, state education officials said.

As a result, comparison of the 2009 Report Card data with previous years' scores "will not be possible or valid," according to the state's announcement

"Our students have made great progress over the last five years," Education Commissioner Timothy Webb said. "Our teachers have truly made the difference.

Webb added, "These changes to our calculations reflect no loss of learning but rather the pursuit of higher standards as we demand the highest level of success for our students."

Two major changes have been implemented for calculation of scores on the 2009 Report Card.

First, the baseline year for comparing student achievement has been reset, using 2009 test scores.

Previously, all students were compared to students who took state tests in 1998, according to the release.

"All students in all subgroups have shown tremendous gain[s] compared to 1998 under the previous calculation," the release said. "However, new learning standards [associated with the Tennessee Diploma Project] require the state to adopt a new baseline for determining school grades."

Second, a new grade scale will be used for the 2009 report card.

"The scale used to determine all grades A through F has been dramatically revised," the release said. "In past years, Tennessee defined student proficiency in subject matter as a very basic understanding of the knowledge required."

But the new Tennessee Diploma Project requires that the state "realistically assess proficiency of subject matter," according to the release. Going forward, students "will be expected to have mastered a concept" to be considered proficient.

"We must set expectations for all students higher," said Dr. Connie Smith, assistant education commissioner for accountability, teaching and learning.

He added, "The Tennessee Diploma Project sets the stage for children to succeed."

New assessments [tests] will be implemented next spring when state standardized tests are given.

In grades three through eight, the 2009-10 school year assessments will include more reading/language arts items, and slightly fewer social studies and science items. The number of math items assessed will be "about the same," according to state education officials.

Also during the 2009-10 school year, the progress of high school students will be assessed with new "end-of-course" tests in algebra I, English II and biology I.

Future assessments of high school students' progress will be made via new tests in algebra II, English III, geometry, chemistry and physics.

The algebra II assessment will be field tested during the spring of 2010, while the English III assessment will be field tested in the spring of 2011, education officials said.

The Tennessee Department of Education expects to release the 2009 Report Card on, or about, Nov. 3, Department of Education spokesman Rachel Woods said.

For more information on the Tennessee Diploma Project, go to http://tn.gov .

Information on the Report Card can be found at http://tn.gov .shtml.