Section 1: Year In Review
2010 was a banner year for education reform.
Nationally, the federal Race to the Top grant
spurred innovation and competition among
states. Governors and state legislatures passed
groundbreaking reform legislation, and non-profit
and philanthropic organizations invested hundreds
of millions of dollars in education reform projects
across the country. Reforming America’s public
education system to improve achievement and
student growth has become a common policy goal
at the local, state, and federal level.
Nowhere has this reform spirit been more evident
than in Tennessee. Over the last two years, the
Volunteer State has become a national leader
for education reform. Political leadership has
rallied around the cause of improving Tennessee’s
schools. Competitive grants from the federal
government and private organizations have
resulted in Tennessee receiving more than $700
million in funding to support recent reforms.
Parents, teachers, and communities have been
engaged around the implementation of new, higher
academic standards. Tennessee, once known
for having unacceptably low scores in public
education, is now nationally recognized as being
an innovator that is devoted to driving meaningful
improvements in the achievement and growth of
the state’s 933,000 preK-12 public school students.
The State Collaborative on Reforming Education
(SCORE) has played a crucial role in this effort
by working with the state and local governments
to encourage sound policy decisions in public
education and advancing innovative reform
throughout the state.
Despite the unprecedented reform during the last
year, Tennessee still has a long way to go to ensure
that every Tennessee student graduates high
school prepared for college or the workforce. The
state’s student achievement levels remain in the
bottom quarter nationally, and only 16 percent of
11th grade students in Tennessee are prepared to
enter college without taking remedial coursework.i
Improving education for Tennessee’s public school
students will require a continued concerted effort
by education stakeholders – parents, educators,
and policymakers – to demand better results,
higher achievement, and a better-educated
population. The good news is that Tennessee’s
recent reforms have begun to create the political,
12
The State of Education In Tennessee
policy, and funding conditions to dramatically
improve our public schools.
Using the initial “Roadmap to Success” report that
that SCORE issued in October 2009 as a guide, the
report that follows analyzes both the important
progress that occurred in 2010 and points the way
forward for sustained action and lasting change
in 2011.
For many Tennesseans, the most significant
topic in 2010 was not education reform, but
rather the difficult and challenging economic
environment. Tennessee counties were faced with
dramatically high unemployment, many large
manufacturing plants in the state were shuttered,
and state government faced difficult decisions in
balancing the state’s budget. Unemployment in
Tennessee, which had nearly doubled since the
beginning of the recession, reached 10.7 percent
in January of 2010, with more than 322,000
Tennesseans unemployed.ii A few Tennessee
counties, particularly in rural areas of the state,
saw unemployment rise to almost 20 percent
during the year. As 2011 begins, signs point to
economic recovery, but economic growth and job
creation remain a critical concern for Tennesseans.
A statewide poll taken in late January 2011 found
that almost 57 percent of Tennesseans believed
the economy and jobs should be the top priority for
state government.iii
Recent economic investment in Tennessee
has anecdotally proven the vital connection
between education and jobs. The new Hemlock
Semiconductor plant in
Clarksville — which plans
to hire 500 full-time
workers in 2011 — requires
its employees to pass
six WorkKeys job skills
assessment tests, including
tests in applied math,
applied technology, and
reading for information.
Tennesseans applying
for a manufacturing job
at the Volkswagen plant
in Chattanooga, which
begins production this year, must earn at least a 19
on the ACT or at least a “C” in college-level classes
that require reading and math.vii To be competitive
in Tennessee’s 21st century workforce, significant
educational attainment is a prerequisite.
Unfortunately, there is evidence that Tennessee’s
education system is performing poorly relative to
education systems in other states and countries,
Recent economic investment
in Tennessee has proven the
vital connection between
education and jobs.
JOB REQUIREMENTS
Hemlock Semiconductor (Clarksville, TN)
• High school diploma or GED
• Pass ͥ