2015-16 Public Education in Tennessee: A Policymaker’s Guide | Page 16

1988: The SBOE passed the Teacher Education Policy,

approximately 25 percent of the school’s impact on student
learning.31 A recent study showed that principals play a key
role in retaining top performing teachers, creating productive
school cultures, and fostering working conditions that
encourage effective teachers to stay in the classroom.32

2007: The Tennessee General Assembly passed legislation

Acknowledging the research and in response to the changing
nature of schools, Tennessee adopted a revised statewide
evaluation system for principals in the 2011-12 school year.33
In Tennessee, principal evaluation combines self-reflection,
peer and/or supervisor observation, input of school staff,
and student data to create a more complete picture of an
administrator’s performance. The effectiveness rating is
calculated using a formula that is 50 percent qualitative and
50 percent quantitative. A sample breakdown of a principal’s
evaluation could be as follows:

TOPIC TIMELINE
Here are key events in teacher preparation in Tennessee:

establishing a framework for Tennessee’s teacher preparation
program approval process. This framework was based on the
standards set forth by the National Council for Accreditation
of Teacher Education (NCATE), representing national best
practices in teacher preparation. Teacher preparation
programs were evaluated against these standards based
on a written application and site visit. After this evaluation,
preparation programs could be granted full approval with
stipulations, a denial of approval, or a revocation of approval.

that required the state to develop an annual report on the
effectiveness of teacher training programs. This legislation
required the report to include data on each program’s
graduates including placement and retention rates, PRAXIS
results, and teaching effectiveness data based on TVAAS
scores. The first Report Card on the Effectiveness of Teacher
Preparation Programs was published in 2010 and continues
to be published on an annual basis.28

2013: Tennessee adopted the Council for the Accreditation
of Educator Preparation’s (CAEP) standards for teacher
preparation programs. This was a shift away from the NCATE
standards and made CAEP the accrediting body for educator
preparation programs in Tennessee. When compared to
previous standards for educator preparation pr