Tennessee Education Commissioner Candice McQueen Kicks Off Statewide Tour of Classrooms
February 14, 2015
Commits to Visiting 10,000 Tennessee Teachers
Nashville, TN – Education Commissioner Candice McQueen on Friday kicked off a statewide tour of classroom visits where she plans to connect with 10,000 Tennessee teachers. The commissioner, whose tour began in her hometown of Clarksville, is committed to this goal as a way to listen and learn from Tennessee educators.
Commissioner McQueen visited three schools on Friday, two of which she attended herself growing up: Burt Elementary and Northeast High. She spent time with teachers, students, and administrators, listening to stories of their successes and challenges. [Read more]
Tennessee Invests Additional $5 Million in Priority School Planning Grants
December 9, 2014
Nashville, TN – The Tennessee Department of Education has awarded nearly $5 million in federal funds to five districts to plan for how to best support their Priority Schools, the lowest-performing 5 percent of schools in the state, in terms of academic achievement.
“We believe this additional financial investment will help districts provide our Priority Schools with specific supports,” said Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman. “For the past several years, our state has been focused both on improving overall performance of all kids in Tennessee, while closing achievement gaps and supporting students that are the farthest behind; we have seen results from these efforts and are excited to help districts plan for additional interventions.” [Read more]
Tennessee Department of Education Announces Next Round of Priority, Focus Schools
August 19, 2014
Nashville, TN – The Tennessee Department of Education today announced the newest round of Priority and Focus Schools, as well as school-level TCAP results.
Tennessee’s accountability system identifies three types of schools, as required by the U.S. Department of Education: Priority, Focus, and Reward Schools. Priority and Focus Schools are named every three years, and the first designation was in 2012.
Priority Schools are the 5 percent of schools across the state with the lowest overall performance. Focus Schools are 10 percent of schools with the largest achievement gaps between groups of students, regardless of overall performance. [Read more]
Tennessee Department of Education announces 2015 Teacher of the Year Finalists
July 8, 2014
Names Them to Inaugural Advisory Council
Nashville, TN – The Tennessee Department of Education is proud to announce the finalists for the 2014-15 Tennessee Teacher of the Year Award.
The nine finalists are elementary, middle, and high school educators from each Grand Division of the state. Grand Division winners and the Teacher of the Year will be selected from this group and announced later this fall. [Read more]
Tennessee Students make gains on 2014 TCAP Tests
July 1, 2014
Since 2011, more than 100,000 additional students are on grade level in math
Nashville, TN – Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and Department of Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman today announced Tennessee students made gains in the majority of the state’s 31 grade and subject-level tests.
The biggest increases seen in the 2013-2014 Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) results were in high school, where students made gains on five of seven high school tests. The 2014 results mark the second year of strong growth in a row at the high school level.
Tennessee Department of Education releases Redesigned 2013 Report Card
November 18, 2013
Nashville, TN – The 2013 state Report Card posted on the Tennessee Department of Education website offers increased functionality for users to view detailed breakdowns of last year’s continued statewide student achievement growth.
The new design of the 2013 Report Card offers users the ability to create personalized comparisons between state, school, and districts on the following measures: achievement, ACT scores, graduation rate, student enrollment and ethnicity, and value-added composite scores. [Read more]
Tennessee announces Top Schools for Achievement and Growth for 2012-2013
August 20, 2013
Reward Schools in 52 districts across the state
Nashville, TN – Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman announced 169 schools as the 2012-13 Reward Schools, the top 5 percent of schools in the state for annual growth and the top 5 percent for academic achievement.
The Reward Schools span 52 districts across the state and include 70 schools that serve mostly economically disadvantaged populations.
“Tennessee continues to set the standard in education reform as we maintain our focus on high levels of achievement and continuous growth,” Haslam said at an event held at Percy Priest Elementary, recognized for its overall academic achievement. [Read more]
Tennessee Department of Education Releases 2012-13 District Accountability Results
August 7, 2013
Nashville, TN – The Tennessee Department of Education recognized school districts across the state that significantly improved student performance and narrowed achievement gaps under Tennessee’s accountability system.
The following five districts achieved exemplary status: Bells City Schools, Bradford Special School District, Elizabethton City Schools, Perry County Schools and Stewart County Schools.
Tennessee Public Schools New Textbooks available for Public’s Review
July 19, 2013
Nashville, TN – New K-12 social studies textbooks proposed for use in Tennessee public schools during the 2014-15 school year are on display in 10 district textbook collection sites located across the state.
As in past years, the public can review all textbooks at any time during the six-year adoption period, but public comments on the proposed social studies textbooks must be submitted by September 11th, 2013, to be considered by the publisher. Forms are available at each site for public input. [Read more]
Tennessee Department of Education says 2013 TCAP Results Show Sustained Growth among Tennessee Students
June 28, 2013
Nashville, TN – The Tennessee Department of Education announced that students across the state performed better on the 2013 Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) than the previous year, marking three consecutive years of continued improvement.
For the first time since the state implemented more rigorous standards in 2009, more than half of students in grades 3-8 are on grade level in every TCAP Achievement subject, reaching higher levels of proficiency in 2013 on 22 of 24 tested subjects than in 2012.
