Education News

TNReady tests expected to be included on student report cards after successful test year

Tennessee districts should have online TNReady scores available by the end of the school year, ensuring they can be used in student final grades. Tennessee Department of Education spokesman Jay Klein said districts will get online raw scores for high schools to districts by May 20. Paper tests in grades 3-8 were required to be submitted on Monday to get results by that time....Read More

Building On Tennessee’s Foundations For Student Success

Tennessee’s foundational policies in academic standards, annual assessment, and educator evaluation provide the fundamental building blocks of a high-quality education system. As Tennessee considers future opportunities to accelerate student learning, our collective commitment to these essential policies enable the practices and innovations that will propel our students to the success we all...Read More

School vouchers are coming to Nashville and Memphis: What it means for students and parents

A school voucher plan is coming to Tennessee’s two largest counties. The education savings account program was a centerpiece of Gov. Bill Lee’s legislative agenda this year, and the General Assembly gave final approval to the plan on Wednesday. The House and Senate had passed vastly different versions, and a conference committee gathered Wednesday morning, and...Read More

Graduation Guides Promise High Schoolers A Clearer Path To Success

Aniya Cox is sure she wants to be a dermatologist. What she’s been less sure about is what she needs to do to get there — she’s just 16, a sophomore at Eastern Senior High School in Washington, D.C. She can remember, at various points of the past two years, desperately trying to navigate all that’s required to graduate high school and get into college. “I was all...Read More

3 Ways NYU Is Training New Teachers to Use Special Ed and ELL Strategies to Better Serve All Kids

Skills acquired by NYU teaching residents. (New York University) New York University is expanding its novel teacher training program, which places diverse teachers into high-needs schools for an intensive, yearlong master’s program organized around the belief that all teachers benefit by learning to work with students with disabilities and those learning English. The Steinhardt’s...Read More

Metro Nashville Public Schools Interim Director Adrienne Battle shares vision for district

The Metro Nashville Public Schools board welcomed the district’s new interim director at its April 23 meeting. Adrienne Battle, who officially began the temporary position April 15, replaced former Director Shawn Joseph following the board’s April 9 vote to buy out his contract. “This is a great opportunity, and it is even a greater responsibility,” Battle said. During her first...Read More

Inner circle: Here’s who education chief Penny Schwinn will lean on in Tennessee

Less than three months into the job, Tennessee Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn has filled six of her nine cabinet positions with a mix of new hires, retentions, and promotions as she begins to restructure one of the state’s highest-profile departments. Schwinn, who took the helm of the 600-employee education department in early February, said she wants to have her entire team of top...Read More

Trending Among Voters: Education

As a research and advocacy organization, SCORE frequently checks the pulse of voters regarding various education issues. From public opinion surveys to focus groups, understanding what is on the minds of Tennesseans is important as we work to improve education for all students in our state. You can reference a few of our previous public opinion surveys here. SCORE’s most recent public...Read More

How do states’ ESSA plans rate in promoting equity?

Months after the approval process for all states’ consolidated Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) accountability plans wrapped up in September 2018, each state has identified its own set of indicators and has been working to implement the federal law. However, as this shift takes place, there’s still an underlying question: How well do these plans aim to support struggling schools...Read More

Investing in Principal Talent Pays Off in Higher Math and Reading Scores, Study Finds

Principals who’ve had attention at every point in their development as a school leader—including selection, preparation, hiring, placement, and coaching after they are on the job—were linked to stronger reading and math achievement and to longer tenures in their jobs at the helm of schools. Those clear findings—from a new study of six school districts that made heavy investments in...Read More