Here are the 37 Tennessee educators chosen to offer advice on TNReady testing
Tennessee has tapped 37 educators to serve as advisers to the state Department of Education and its testing companies after widespread problems this spring with the standardized TNReady assessment.
Thirty-one teachers and six testing coordinators were named Tuesday as the state’s first TNReady Ambassadors. They are to provide ongoing input and feedback to the state and its two TNReady vendors, Questar and Educational Testing Service, during the upcoming school year.
The group “will play a critical role in our work to improve the testing experience for students and teachers,” Education Commissioner Candice McQueen said in a statement.
Specifically, they’ll be tasked with helping to plan and present test-related professional development across the state; evaluate instructions, manuals and other testing materials for usability and clarity; and review test questions, content, and forms. For their part-time work, the ambassadors will receive additional compensation of up to $15,000 each for teachers and up to $10,000 each for test coordinators, depending on the number of hours they work.
The state also has hired a veteran educator from Cookeville to oversee the test’s administration as Tennessee’s new executive director of assessment logistics. Denette Kolbe has coordinated testing since 2011 for Putnam County Schools, where she also has worked as a teacher, principal, supervisor, and assistant director. Part of her job will be to work with the ambassadors.
McQueen announced all of the appointments as the state seeks to troubleshoot TNReady and re-establish the credibility of Tennessee’s beleaguered testing program amid backlash from educators, parents, and elected officials. The state previously announced plans to seek proposals from other companies to take over the test’s administration beginning in the 2019-20 school year.
Of the more than 900 educators who applied, 37 were chosen (An asterisk denotes testing coordinator.)
Donny Anderson, Blount County Schools*
John Luke Bell, Knox County Schools
Aaron Bible, Greeneville City Schools
Brandi Blackley, Clarksville-Montgomery County School System
Terri Bradshaw, Blount County Schools
Jessica Brown, Williamson County Schools
Tina Childers, Hamilton County Department of Education
Lisa Choate, Cannon County Schools
Laura Davis, Knox County Schools
Brian Davis, Shelby County Schools
Kevin Deck, Williamson County Schools*
Kristi Dragan, Wilson County Schools
Laurie Driver, Knox County Schools*
Melinda Fleischer, Rutherford County Schools
Rashaunda Foster, Shelby County Schools
Erin Glenn, Hamilton County Department of Education
Mario Grant, Shelby County Schools
Tiffani Harris, Jackson-Madison County School System
Sarah Haynes, Bradley County Schools
Curtis Herring, Arlington Community Schools
Adrema Higgins, Lebanon Special Schools
Eric Hoffman, Rutherford County Schools
Tiffany Hogan, Johnson City Schools
Michael Hubbard, Kingsport City Schools*
Traci Jones, Achievement School District
Joseph Jones, Cheatham County Schools
Carol Keasley, Rutherford County Schools
Jennifer Maag, Clarksville-Montgomery County School System
