TAKING NOTE
NOVEMBER 2013
PAGE 2
Timeline: Tennessee’s Path to College and Career Readiness Standards
1983
1996
2004
2005
2007
system and creating a set of common,
internationally competitive academic standards.
A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational
Reform is published by the National
Commission on Excellence in Education,
documenting the decline in the U.S. education
system and the need for reform.
Achieve, an independent, bipartisan, non-profit
education reform organization, is created by a
group of governors and business leaders at the
National Education Summit, encouraging
states to adopt rigorous academic standards.
The report Ready or Not: Creating a High
School Diploma that Counts is released by
the American Diploma Project, illustrating
significant concerns about the diminished
quality of a high school diploma. The report
found that a high school diploma “has lost
value because graduates could not compete
successfully beyond high school.”
The Common Core State Standards Initiative is
officially launched.
2009
Tennessee joins the Common Core State
Standards Initiative. The NGA and CCSSO
announce the work groups and release a draft
of college and career ready standards for public
comment. A 25-member Validation Committee
is appointed to provide an independent, expert
review of the standards.
2010
March: A draft of the Common Core State
Standards is released for public feedback.
June: The final version of the Standards is
released and the Validation Committee reported
that “the Common Core State Standards
are based on best practices in national and
international education, as well as research and
input from numerous sources.”
The American Diploma Project (ADP) Network
is officially launched at the 2005 National
Education Summit on High School to make
college and career readiness a priority in
the states, building upon the findings and
recommendations of the Ready or Not report.
February: Tennessee receives an “F” from
the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for “Truth in
Advertising About Student Proficiency” and
“Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness” in
the report: Leaders and Laggards: A State-byState Report Card on Education Effectiveness.
June: Tennessee begins work to align K-12
education standards with the skills and
knowledge necessary for success in college and
career through the Tennessee Diploma Project,
joining 30 other states as part of the American
Diploma Project Network.
July: The Tennessee State Board of Education
voted unanimously to adopt the standards.
September: The Partnership for the Assessment of
College and Career Readiness (PARCC) is awarded
funding to develop assessments aligned with the
Common Core State Standards. Tennessee is one
of 11 governing states in the Consortium.
2011
Tennessee begins implementing the Common
Core State Standards in grades K-2.
2012
January: The State Board of Education
approves new curriculum standards and
high school transition policy as part of the
Tennessee Diploma Project on second reading.
December: The National Governors Association
(NGA), Council of Chief State School Office rs
(CCSSO), and Achieve release the report,
Benchmarking for Success: Ensuring U.S.
Students Receive a World-Class Education – a
call to action for improving the U.S. education
April: Tennessee hosts national PARCC convening
and Tennessee’s PARCC team is one of the
first national team to develop their timeline for
implementing the assessments.
More than 13,000 Tennessee math educators
receive training on the new standards.
November: The State Board of Education
approves new curriculum standards and high
school transition policy as part of the Tennessee
Diploma Project on first reading.
2008
February: Tennessee faculty and higher education
leaders attend first PARCC design meeting.
Tennessee continues to phase in the Common
Core State Standards beginning with math in
grades 3-8, as well as a pilot of the English
language arts standards.
2013
Nearly 30,000 Tennessee educators receive
training on the new standards.
Tennessee begins full implementation of the
Common Core State Standards for both math
and English language arts in grades K-12.
2014
Tennessee will begin using PARCC assessments
for math, English, and reading.
1207 18th Avenue South, Suite 326, Nashville, TN 37212 — tel 615.727.1545 — fax 615.727.1569 — www.tnscore.org