Tennessee Department of Education Releases New State Report Card
December 4, 2018
Tennessee Department of Education
Nashville, TN – Tennessee Department of Education Commissioner Candice McQueen today released the new, redesigned state report card for 2017-18.
This tool was developed over the past year with educators, parents, and community organizations and includes a number of new features based on that feedback, including school ratings, a Spanish translation of the site, and additional new data about the performance of different student groups.
New parent-focused tool includes school ratings, Spanish translation, additional data on student groups.
Tennessee Department of Education reports Students Break Records with Highest-Ever ACT Score and Participation Rate
November 1, 2018
Tennessee Education Department
Nashville, TN – Tennessee Education Department Commissioner Candice McQueen today announced that Tennessee public school students have once again broken the previous year’s record by earning an average composite score of 20.2 on the ACT in 2018.
More than 1,400 new Tennessee Students now able to access up to $23.4 million in HOPE Scholarship funds.
Grant funding recommended by Governor’s School Safety Working Group
September 25, 2018
Tennessee Government
Nashville, TN – Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and Commissioner of Education Candice McQueen today announced that all 147 school districts in Tennessee have completed the first-ever statewide assessment of school facilities and safety procedures.
Additionally, all districts have submitted applications to receive their allocations of the $35 million school security funding and may now use these funds to implement identified school security and safety needs.
Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam.
Tennessee Read to be Ready Summer Grant Programs Show Significant Gains in Student Learning
September 13, 2018
Tennessee Department of Education
Nashville, TN – Tennessee Department of Education Commissioner Candice McQueen has announced the results from the third year of the Read to be Ready Summer Grant Program, which provides funding to educators to lead tuition-free, literacy-focused summer camps for students in need across the state.
For the third year in a row, rising first, second, and third grade students who participated in the program showed gains in their reading comprehension and accuracy skills and increased their motivation to read.
Tennessee Read to be Ready Program servers over 7,700 Tennessee Students in Third Year of Summer Camps Focused on Improving Literacy.
Tennessee Department of Education Releases Educator Diversity Report
August 15, 2018
Tennessee Department of Education
Nashville, TN – Tennessee Department of Education Commissioner Candice McQueen today released a new report to provide insight on the racial and ethnic makeup of Tennessee’s student body and educator workforce, as well as outline where the department and districts across the state go from here.
Additionally, for the first time, the department is releasing detailed demographic information by district to increase awareness and prompt further conversations.
Tennessee Educator Survey Highlights Teacher Empowerment, Understanding of Standards
July 27, 2018
Tennessee Department of Education
Nashville, TN – Tennessee Department of Education Commissioner Candice McQueen today released the results from the 2018 Tennessee Educator Survey, which was completed by nearly 40,000 Tennessee educators, representing 58 percent of the state’s teachers – an all-time high response rate.
Survey results point to progress made and maintained in a number of areas, alongside several areas where our state’s educators continue to see a need for improvement.
2018 Tennessee Educator Survey Highlights
2018 TNReady Scores Show Mixed Results, Encouraging Areas of Progress
July 20, 2018
Tennessee Department of Education
Nashville TN – Tennessee Commissioner of Education Candice McQueen announced the 2018 TNReady student assessment results today, sharing that while results vary statewide, there are encouraging trends – including strong growth in English language arts for elementary grades and improvement in high school math.
Students in historically disadvantaged student groups also showed notable progress. Gaps between student groups narrowed in multiple areas, and students in Priority schools – including the Achievement School District – grew faster than their non-Priority school peers nearly across the board.
Tennessee Students improved most in early grades reading, narrowed achievement gaps; show need for deeper, more sustained work to support improvement.
Governor Haslam and Commissioner McQueen Launch Tennessee Pathways
July 12, 2018
Tennessee Department of Education
New Drive to 55 Initiative will equip more high school students to transition into high-skilled jobs and postsecondary opportunities in Tennessee after graduation
Nashville, TN – Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and Commissioner of Education Candice McQueen today have unveiled Tennessee Pathways as a part of the Drive to 55, the governor’s initiative to increase the percentage of Tennesseans with postsecondary credentials to 55 percent by the year 2025.
Tennessee Pathways lays the foundation for the Drive to 55 by focusing on students in elementary, middle, and high school to further align K-12 education to opportunities after high school graduation – including industry needs and postsecondary expectations – so students gain the knowledge and experience to move seamlessly into college and the workforce.
Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam.
Tennessee Department of Education announces TNReady Changes, Will Recompete Testing Contract
June 14, 2018
Tennessee Department of Education
Nashville, TN – Tennessee Department of Education Commissioner Candice McQueen announced several new steps today to improve the state’s TNReady student assessment, including recompeting the state’s current testing vendor contract.
Additional steps include refining current Questar contract, revising timeline for online testing, engaging more teachers
Tennessee Department of Education approves New Steps to Reduce Testing
April 12, 2018
Nashville, TN – Tennessee Department of Education Commissioner Candice McQueen announced the approval of recommendations that will reduce student testing in 2018-19.
The recommendations are the first to be released by the state’s third Task Force on Student Testing and Assessment – which includes educators, parents, and education leaders from across the state – and they resulted from months of analysis and discussion, as well as additional surveys of high school teachers and parents.
For the first time, Tennessee Department of Education eliminates two TNReady exams.
