For over two decades education reformers have been trying to convince parents, taxpayers and voters that Tennessee public schools are doing a horrible job. They have done this through the manipulation of test result data gathered from state and federally mandated standardized tests.

Last month the State of Tennessee announced that 36.4% of Tennessee’s public school students are reading on grade level based on the results of the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) state-level results. Governor Bill Lee and Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn would like Tennesseans to believ...