Tennessee Teacher Prep Change Would be First in the Nation

posted in: Home Carousel, News & Announcements, The Tennessee Model |

A bill before the 2019 Tennessee General Assembly could lead to dramatic improvements in teaching, learning, and college readiness for Tennessee’s PK-12 students. The bill would require the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) to incentivize Tennessee’s public universities for producing a greater percentage of highly effective new teachers.  It would do so by incorporating the percentage of newly graduated teachers who produce above-average achievement gains into THEC’s Quality Assurance funding program. Although Tennessee’s universities have historically produced many excellent teachers, a decline in quality … Read More

Early Reading Success & College

posted in: News & Announcements |

In most states, a school district’s number of proficient third-grade readers is highly predictive of the number of 8th graders who will be proficient five years later.  The significance of this fact is that 8th-grade reading skill is highly predictive of high school outcomes and preparedness for work and college.   In other words, third grade reading success is vitally important because it predicts the trajectory of a child’s educational career.  The above chart school district reading scores illustrates … Read More

Teacher Ed Needs Accountability

posted in: General Information, News & Announcements |

Tennessee Education Schools Need Accountability, Not a New Report Card J. E. Stone, Ed.D. December 8, 2016 Tennessee has had a Teacher Preparation Report Card since 2007 and it has had no impact on the effectiveness of Tennessee’s newly trained teachers. The reason is that the sanctions promised by Tennessee’s $500 million Race to the Top grant were never implemented. As of 2015—the last year for which the number of “highly ineffective” teachers are reported–the state’s teacher training … Read More

Are states reporting the truth about student achievement?

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National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) vs State Self Reports Are States Being Honest with Themselves About Student Achievement? The charts below compare the most recent National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) reports on reading and math achievement with the state self-reports required by the No Child Left Behind Act. The discrepancies are shocking and they clearly illustrate the need for higher standards, but not necessarily for Common Core. What these discrepancies more directly reveal is a continuing … Read More

States Compared to International Standards

posted in: General Information, Home Carousel, News & Announcements |

Phillips and AIR correctly argue that weak state standards serve to create a false sense of security about state educational outcomes.  In most states, school outcomes are distressingly weak compared to national and international standards.  In the past, the U. S. led international rankings. In recent decades, however, other countries have moved ahead despite American school reforms. Whether these facts argue for the nationwide adoption of the Common Core, however, is another issue.   The National Assessment of Educational … Read More