TPS students, like those across the state, performed best in 10th-grade history. However, there was a wide gulf between the district’s results and the state’s average — with 31 percent of TPS students proficient compared to 50.6 percent statewide.

The next highest overall TPS score was sixth-grade English language arts — 29 percent of students were proficient.

TPS officials followed the lead of state education leaders in stressing that the results are just a new baseline for how the district will measure itself in the future and shouldn’t be compared to past years’ scores.

“What used to be proficient is now more along the lines of what would be called limited knowledge,” said Tulsa Superintendent Deborah Gist in an interview Tuesday morning.

The new, lower scores on tougher tests were something that the district expected and the Oklahoma State Department of Education had warned the public about.

“We have watched what’s happened around the country when states have moved to new standards and assessments that are more aligned to college- and career-readiness,” Gist said. “And these numbers aren’t dissimilar from what other districts have experienced when they’ve made that move. The good news is that this sets the baseline for us.”