A long-standing accountability system in Tennessee is now subject to change.

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is not going away. In fact, it might not even undergo more than minor modifications before it comes up for reauthorization in a couple of years. The nomination of Margaret Spellings to replace Rod Paige as U.S. secretary of education foretells not only a single-minded focus on test-based accountability but also an…

This workbook, submitted by the Tennessee Department of Education to the U.S. Department of Education, is for State Grants under Title IX, Part C, Section 9302 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (Public Law 107-110). By January 31, 2003, States must complete and submit to the Department this Consolidated State Application Accountability…

Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Tennessee have given all the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) states a new tool to help focus their colleges and universities on state needs. These three states have created plans for their higher education institutions by drawing on leadership from a broad range of state agencies. They identified state needs and…

This 2008 Annual Joint Report of the State Board of Education and the Tennessee Higher Education Commission identifies four joint priorities and nine associated goals addressing areas of need in both student learning and educator development for the advancement of education in Tennessee. The joint priorities and initiatives focus on points of…

As accountability pressures have increased on community colleges, they have been challenged to demonstrate their value to the communities they serve. One role commonly included in community colleges' mission statements in Tennessee and nationally is support of local economic development. The purpose of the study was to assess the importance and…

This book discusses four approaches to incorporating student achievement in teacher evaluation. Seven chapters discuss: (1) "Teacher Evaluation and Student Achievement: An Introduction to the Issues"; (2) "What is the Relationship between Teaching and Learning?" (e.g., whether teachers are responsible for student learning and…

A charter school is a public school that is operated under a detailed contract with a public agency and that may be exempt from many state and local regulations. This policy brief provides a brief overview of charter school characteristics and legislation, and discusses the concerns of policymakers in four states: Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia,…

In the No Child Left Behind era of high-stakes testing, school administrators are facing their toughest challenge ever. They are being held accountable for the performance of their schools, yet current systems in public education typically fail to provide them with the appropriate tools to manage effectively. Although the classroom is where…

Although the successful middle level school was designed to address both the affective and cognitive development of young adolescents (NMSA 2003), academic achievement is the outcome of paramount importance in the current political context of accountability, high-stakes testing, and the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. In their efforts to reform,…

A study surveyed the views of 140 Tennessee members of the International Reading Association (IRA) regarding the state's Comprehensive Education Reform Act (CERA). The subjects, primarily elementary and secondary school teachers, were asked to respond on a five-point scale to statements concerning three elements of the CERA: (1) an incentive pay…

"The 2009 Legislative Briefing" is a topical summary of actions during the 2009 legislative sessions that affect education in the 16 SREB states. Topics include: state budgets and the economy; tax and revenue; teacher and faculty pay raises; retirement systems; issues affecting teachers and education leaders; health and safety;…

For the third year, an Employer Satisfaction Survey collected ratings given by Tennessee employers to recent graduates recognized as secondary vocational-technical program completers. On a statewide basis, the average number of eligible employers per eligible program was 7.5. In total, the usable rate of return was 62 percent (798 employers). The…

This report presents cycle four of the strategic planning process at the State University and Community College System of Tennessee. The cycle extends for five fiscal years from 2000 to 2005, and is meant to: (1) provide a blueprint of the systems vision; (2) provide guidelines to facilitate setting system policy and priorities; (3) provide…

Questions of college performance in the United States are inevitably answered in terms of numbers rather than performance. A Tennessee policy links two percent of state funding to outcomes rather than size. The policy has major implications for funding and performance in colleges and other service-oriented institutions. (Author/MLW)