As the kids head back to school, the state ranks Davidson County near bottom for child well being
A series of county profiles and rankings released by the state just as kids head back to school for classes put Davidson County in the lowest 10 of all counties for child well being, a sobering reminder of the challenges facing children and families in Nashville. For many local kids, the challenges begin long before they step inside a classroom.
The set of profiles, released by the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth, used 57 key indicators to “rank each county in critical areas that shape child development.”
Those indicators include economic well-being, education, health, and family and community support — all of which work together to determine whether children are set up for success.
The county-level breakdowns identify strengths and areas for growth for every county in the state and they also include policy recommendations aimed at creating better outcomes for children and families. The Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth works as an independent agency and was created by the Tennessee General Assembly in 1988. Its work is focused on systems improvement for all children, youth and families through data-driven advocacy, education and collaboration.
Inside the recommendations, the report offers two major suggestions for improving child well being in the county. One is to improve the youth crime rate. The county scored among the bottom three counties for youth crime rates among children aged 10-17. Recommendations from the state included addressing youth crime at a community level using prevention, early intervention with targeted intensive services and re-entry planning.
The second recommendation is improving the housing cost burden: “Pro-active housing policy that helps ensure affordable housing is available for people to live where they work can improve negative outcomes related to high housing costs,” the policy recommendation reads.
It goes on to say that the county “might include approving more apartment construction and allowing rental of accessory dwelling units, creating a standard zoning approval process and applying for affordable housing trust fund competitive grants. Improving ease of usage and communication with landlords and renters using Housing Choice Vouchers can increase the number of landlords willing to accept vouchers.”
It also notes the difficulties around child care cost burden, where Davidson County ranked 55th in the year previous but 86th in this ranking. That steep drop reflects the growing strain on working families as child care costs continue to outpace wages, making it harder for parents to work while ensuring their children receive quality care.
The report ranked Davidson County 88th overall in education. Despite the ranking, the data shows that the district has made progress and improvement over the last assessment in high school graduation rates, TCAP scores in math and literacy.
Almost every other county saw improvements in education: The TCAP scores used in the report showed 38.9 percent of students were proficient in reading, an increase from 37.6 the previous year. Williamson County ranked first in reading proficiency while Lake County in northwest Tennessee ranked last.
Davidson County’s Superintended Adrienne Battle sent a message to parents ahead of the school year noting district TCAP result gains over previous years. She noted the following improvements:
- Highest achievement in district history in all tested subjects since the adoption of more rigorous state standards and proficiency level targets.
- Improvements in 19 out of 21 grade-level subject areas in grades 3-8.
- Double-digit growth since 2021 in all tested subjects, including a 19.2-point gain in Math and a 17.5-point gain in Social Studies.
- Larger proficiency gains than the state in nearly every tested subject.
“These gains aren’t just statistics,” Battle wrote to parents. “They represent students closing learning gaps, building confidence, and preparing for bright futures. Our teachers have spent the summer and past week engaged in professional learning and planning to keep that momentum going strong from Day 1. We remain committed to ensuring every student in Nashville Public Schools is known, cared for, supported, valued, and on a guaranteed path to success.”
Though the data is from 2023, a release from the state revealed that overall almost 19 percent of all children in the state lived below the federal poverty level that year. It paints a pretty grim picture for all children across the state. “Nearly two-thirds of Tennessee counties had one in five children living below the federal poverty level,” the report reads.
Lack of health insurance was also among the greatest issues for many counties across the state as well as rate of abuse and neglect, crime rate among kids 10-17 the rate of children in public kindergarten without the full immunization series.
In Davidson County, more than 50 percent of all children were using Tenn-Care for health insurance, and overall in the state 5.3 percent of all kids were uninsured. That percentage represents tens of thousands of young people without consistent access to health care.
TCCY Executive Director Richard Kennedy said the profiles were built to be a valuable state-level resource, but that they are “designed primarily to help county officials, nonprofit organizations, and local communities identify areas of success, pinpoint opportunities for improvement, and guide their priorities and funding decisions for the coming year.”
Overall, the counties that ranked in the top 10 are: Williamson, Wilson, Weakley, Sumner, Rutherford, Loudon, Trousdale, Carroll, Gibson and Blount Counties. The counties ranked for the most improvement alongside Davidson were: Sequatchie, Lauderdale, Grundy, Johnson, Haywood, Hardeman, Madison, Shelby and Lake Counties.
For Davidson County, the report is a reminder: Without targeted investment in housing, child care, health care, and community safety, the city’s youngest residents will continue to face steep odds, both in and outside of the classroom.