The Hickman Mills School District publicly discussed its just-released standardized test scores at an Oct. 23 press conference at the district office. The scores showed areas of lower performance compared to the prior year.

"We know from the state's reports, our data, and DESE (Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Education) correspondence to us that this decrease in student performance occurred primarily in economically disadvantaged areas," said Dr. Dennis Carpenter, Hickman Mills school superintendent, in a media release.

Download media release and supporting documentation

"The only explanation for this negative shift in the 5th and 8th grade Science performance of our students is the change to an online testing platform," he said. "To expect students from economically disadvantaged school districts to assimilate to a technology based assessment platform with the same speed as their non-disadvantaged peers is asinine."

Hickman Mills earned 59.3% of a possible 140 points for 2015, compared to 70.7% the prior year.