State of Education in Tennessee Executive Summary – 2011-12

SECTION 1: Year-in-Revi ew 2011 Year-in-Review Timeline January Inauguration of Governor Bill Haslam February Governor Haslam announces two key education initiatives for the year: teacher tenure reform and charter school expansion March — April General Assembly passes tenure reform; Governor Haslam signs into law, effective July 1, 2011. Governor Haslam appoints Kevin Huffman to lead the Tennessee Department of Education May TDOE Commissioner Kevin Huffman appoints Chris Barbic superintendent of the Achievement School District. The Department begins trainings on implementation of Common Core Standards. The Department also begins training evaluators for the new teacher evaluation system June Governor Haslam signs charter reform law in Memphis July TDOE releases TCAP scores indicating improvements over 2009 0 in all tested subject areas –1 and grade levels August New teacher evaluations are implemented statewide. Common Core implementation begins in grades K . ASD begins co-managing its first cohort of schools. Contract finalized to develop –2 the Early Warning Data System September President Obama announces NCLB waiver process. First annual SCORE Prize winners announced November Tennessee submits NCLB waiver application December Governor Haslam requests that SCORE collect feedback on evaluation system and issue report by June 2012 “This work is tough. It is challenging. Nothing is easy about it. There’s a reason why these gaps haven’t closed. There’s a reason why education has been so slow to improve. But I am very hopeful that Tennessee could possibly become the fastest-improving state in the country. If Tennessee can do that, the implications not just for the children here but for the nation are profound.”1 1 13 While 2009 and 2010 were marked by significant policy changes that made Tennessee a leader in the education reform movement, 2011 ushered in the beginning of the tough and challenging work of implementation. Over the last year, statewide implementation of the new teacher and principal evaluation systems began, teachers in grades K began teaching Common Core –2 standards, the Achievement School District began co-managing its first cohort of schools, and two STEM schools were opened in Nashville and Knoxville. From the state department to local districts and schools, educators began rising to the state’s new standards and turning the state’s policy goals into a reality in classrooms. As a result, Tennessee’s students have posted strong learning gains, performing better in all subject areas and grade levels than they did last yea r, even as they were learning under more difficult academic standards. Statewide, student math scores increased by 7 percentage points and reading scores increased by 3.7 percentage points.2 In many districts, the gains were even higher, with double digit growth in certain grades and subjects. While Tennessee has shown early signs of success in preparing students for the rigors of postsecondary education and the workforce, these incremental improvements, while significant, will not be enough to ensure that the state remains globally competitive and economically vibrant. Data from the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) released in 2011 indicated that although there was no statistical change in the state’s fourth and eighth grade reading and math scores from 2009, other states made improvements during this period that pushed Tennessee further down in the rankings.3 And while students in grades three through eight showed improvements on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP), only 15 percent of students are “collegeready” across all four ACT college benchmarks (English, Reading, Mathematics, and Science).4 Using the initial Roadmap to Success report that SCORE issued in October 2009 and the state’s First to the Top priorities as a guide, the report that follows analyzes both the important progress that occurred in 2011 and points the way forward for sustained action and lasting change in 2012. The need for maintaining the momentum for education reform continues to be driven by economic and workforce needs. Recent data show that, within seven years of graduation, Tennesseans who complete a credential beyond a high school diploma earn, on average, $10,000 more per year than those who do not. Currently, only 31 percent of adults in Tennessee have an associate’s degree or higher.5 For rural communities, the connection between a quality education and a strong, sustainable economy is even more pronounced. Unemployment rates in rural communities continue to outpace state and national rates, and to get the jobs of the future, even in fields like manufacturing and agriculture, which have not traditionally required postsecondary education, businesses are requiring that their workers obtain higher levels of education than ever before. For many Tennesseans, the most significant topic in 2011 continued to be the difficult and challenging economic environment.6 In the increasingly global economy, businesses are no longer just looking across borders for an educated and prepared workforce, but across oceans as well. According to a recent study conducted by researchers at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, Tennessee’s students’ performance in math puts them at a disadvantage when compared to most states in the U.S. and many countries around the world.7 In the face of these challenges that reaffirm the critical importance of maintaining the momentum for education reform in the Volunteer State, state leaders issued a renewed challenge in 2011 to be the fastest improving state in the nation. Policymakers responded to this challenge by making a number of substantial changes in education policy to build on the policy successes of 2010. Education reform formed the core of Governor Bill Haslam’s first legislative package and dominated the attention of the first session of the 107th Tennessee General Assembly. In February 2011, Haslam announced the two key pieces of education legislation he sought: teacher tenure reform and charter school expansion. The Governor’s tenure proposal directly continued on page 16 » U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan — August 10, 2011 THE STATE OF EDUCATION IN TENNESSEE 2011–12 THE STATE OF EDUCATION IN TENNESSEE 2011–12 14

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