Race to the Top. Tennessee Report. Year 1: School Year 2010-2011. [State-Specific Summary Report]
Author: Department of Education (ED)
Date: 2012-01-10
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Academic Achievement,Academic Standards,Accountability,Achievement Gains,Administrator Effectiveness,Administrator Evaluation,Best Practices,Budgets,Charter Schools,Competition,Data,Data Collection,Disabilities,Educational Assessment,Educational Change,Educational Improvement,Elementary Secondary Education,English Curriculum,Enrollment,Federal Legislation,Federal State Relationship,Graduation Rate,Grants,Higher Education,Language Arts,Leadership Effectiveness,Mathematics,Measurement Objectives,Models,Outcomes of Education,Performance Based Assessment,Poverty,Principals,Professional Development,Program Evaluation,Program Implementation,Reliability,School Districts,School Effectiveness,School Turnaround,State Government,STEM Education,Systems Approach,Teacher Effectiveness

This State-specific summary report serves as an assessment of Tennessee's Year 1 Race to the Top implementation, highlighting successes and accomplishments, identifying challenges, and providing lessons learned from implementation to date. Tennessee received its Race to the Top grant in July 2010 as part of the first round of the competition. Since receiving the award, the State has made progress implementing several initiatives, including integrating the First to the Top (FTTT) Act goals and objectives into daily operations, aiding the LEAs' transition to new Common Core State Standards (CCSS), and designing and implementing a new educator evaluation system. The State is supporting LEAs in their transition to the CCSS by providing trainings, a crosswalk between the existing State standards and the CCSS, and pacing guides to help connect the new standards to professional growth. Over the past year, TDOE provided introductory training to more than 4,000 educators statewide on the CCSS. Additionally, most of the State's LEAs are voluntarily implementing the CCSS standards in kindergarten through second grade in school year (SY) 2011-2012. Tennessee encountered some impediments to the implementation of its Race to the Top plan during the first year of the grant. After winning its Race to the Top award, Tennessee elected a new Governor who then appointed a new Commissioner of Education. Although the new Governor collaborated with TDOE staff prior to taking office, and both he and his new Commissioner are committed to education reform, the transition to new leadership was not seamless. The time required to fill key leadership positions impacted both TDOE's project timelines and its capacity to support LEAs. TDOE also experienced turnover within the assessment, data systems, and educator evaluation offices. During the summer of 2011, the Commissioner engaged in a strategic planning process and is considering how to fill vacancies and hire additional staff at TDOE in alignment with the agency's key priorities needed to drive student achievement at the classroom level. Tennessee learned valuable lessons during the first year of Race to the Top that will inform TDOE as it continues to foster supportive relationships with LEAs and schools. In Year 1, the State offered guidance, trainings, and in-person support to LEAs and schools on several Race to the Top initiatives, including TVAAS, the CCSS, and the TAP observation rubric. The guidance and resources provided by the State built stronger relationships with LEAs to ensure successful implementation of many foundational Race to the Top initiatives in Year 1. A Glossary is included. (Contains 13 footnotes.) [For the parent report, &quot;Race to the Top Annual Performance Report,&quot; see ED529267. For the full report, &quot;Race to the Top. Tennessee. State-Reported APR: Year One&quot;, see ED529329.]