Poll shows support for TNReady after problem-free testing year
About 69% of those polled support continuing to use TNReady in Tennessee schools, a jump of 10 percentage points over this time last year.
Marta W. Aldrich
Marta W. Aldrich is the senior statehouse correspondent at Chalkbeat Tennessee. A newswoman for The Associated Press for most of her career, Marta has covered state government, politics, business, education and other Tennessee news. She has served as news editor of United Methodist News Service and features editor of American Profile magazine. Marta is a graduate of Memphis City Schools and the University of Missouri School of Journalism.
57 articles by Marta W. Aldrich :
-
October 2019
-
-
September 2019
-
Schwinn retreats on plan to change Tennessee's system for judging schools
For the time being, Tennessee will stick with a framework that emphasizes academic growth for all students, regardless of whether those students are deemed proficient on state tests.
-
Tennessee hits record-high graduation rate in 2019
The uptick for Shelby County Schools was small — from 79.2% to 79.3%. It was below the 80% benchmark set by Tennessee’s largest district to reach its goal of achieving a 90% graduation rate by 2025.
-
Tennessee renews debate on how to judge schools
Debate over student growth versus proficiency has been ongoing for decades. Tennessee's William Sanders came up with the nation’s first system for evaluating teachers based on student growth, and the state was an early adopter of the model.
-
Lawmaker says 'someone needs to be fired' over letter sent to school parents
Rep. Antonio Parkinson of Memphis blasted the Education Department’s handling of the communication, which he worried could contribute to a climate of racial stereotyping, bullying, or low self-esteem for some students.
-
-
August 2019
-
Nearly 100 Tennessee schools found high lead levels in their water
The Shelby County Schools district has not yet filed a report with the state on levels of lead in water sources at schools built prior to 1998. In Germantown Municipal School District, three schools found water sources that tested above the state’s safety threshold.
-
SCORE will expand focus beyond K-12
The State Collaborative on Reforming Education, which launched in 2009 to advocate for policies intended to boost student achievement, will combine forces with Complete Tennessee, which formed in 2016 to try to help more students finish college or other educational training after high school.
-
Tennessee signs $40 million school testing contract
British-based Pearson took over the student testing program July 1. The contract runs through June 30, 2021, and the state has the option to renew terms annually for up to three years through 2024. The five-year cost would be $93.1 million.
-
10 education laws took effect in Tennessee July 1
School districts will have to follow (or be aware of) many new laws that didn’t grab headlines. Here are 10 such measures that become effective with the new fiscal year.
-
Summer reading camps are popular, getting results – and in peril
Read to be Ready camps first opened in 2016, and Tennessee has expanded the program annually with funding from the U.S. Department of Human Services. But state officials learned in January that the federal grant now has to be used for child care programs.
-
Gov. Lee wants to launch education voucher program a year ahead of deadline
The push is alarming voucher opponents, who worry that an accelerated rollout will be more prone to fraud in how the accounts, which will be loaded with an average of $7,300 a year, are used.
-
Manager named for Tennessee school voucher program
Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn named Amity Schuyler voucher project manager. “She believes in education savings accounts. And to take the lead on this project, I need someone who believes in it,” Schwinn said.
-
Governor promises ‘funding will be there’ for early voucher start
Gov. Bill Lee said the state, which began its new fiscal year on July 1, has enough money to start the education savings account program for the 2020-21 school year. His decision to work toward an early rollout caught even some staff members in his education department off guard.
-
School turnaround model has not improved student achievement, research finds
The state-run district took over low-performing schools in Memphis and Nashville with a goal of vaulting them out of the state’s bottom 5% and into the top 25% academically. The schools – 28 in Memphis and two in Nashville – have performed no better or worse than comparable struggling schools outside of the district.
-
Tennessee will wait another year to grade its schools A-F
It’s a reprieve for low-performing schools that are academically in the state’s bottom 5%, known as priority schools. Most are in Memphis and Nashville and were expected to receive some of the lowest letter grades.
-
Pre-K benefits faded, but not for the reasons you think, study says
When a landmark study found that children in Tennessee’s pre-K program eventually fared worse than peers who didn’t participate, the surprising results unleashed a new wave of research to understand why.
-
Six things to know about TNReady scores coming out this week
TNReady tests are designed to assess every student’s true understanding of the material they’ve studied, not just memorized. The goal is to know how to help students advance their knowledge and skills, teachers raise their level of instruction, and districts improve their schools.
-
1 in 3 Tennessee teachers wants to leave the profession, survey says
Results from the latest Tennessee Educator Survey are both troubling and encouraging in a state that has fostered gains on national student tests but also is seeing a gradual decline in its number of teacher candidates.
-
Tennessee replaces its voucher-friendly House speaker with a voucher opponent
Sexton has strong ties to public education. He attended schools in Knox County before graduating in 1989 from Oak Ridge High School in neighboring Anderson County. His mother was a kindergarten teacher for more than 30 years, and his grandfather was a principal.
-
-
June 2019
-
As funding shrinks reading program, Gov. Lee says literacy is a priority
Tennessee used discretionary funds to ensure the Read to be Ready camps continue this summer, but there was no reprieve for a major component of the reading initiative: a statewide network of coaches created three years ago to help teachers improve their literacy instruction.
-
Tennessee's literacy initiative in jeopardy as funding dries up
“I’m really struggling to see how equity is in the equation when 114 districts suffer” as Read to be Ready collapses. – Superintendent Joey Hassell of Haywood County Schools, a rural district near Memphis.
-
Education chief says feedback shows No. 1 concern is mental health needs of students
Student mental health is one of 12 priorities identified in the state education department’s proposed five-year strategic plan.
-
Pearson bid $20.1 million to take over TNReady testing next year
The world’s largest and oldest testing company, Pearson will become the third vendor in five years to administer TNReady in the state’s messy transition to computer-based testing.
-
Tennessee's rural schools overlooked, says equity group
The growth in Tennessee’s immigrant population — accounting for 12% of its public school students in 2016 — presents special challenges for rural schools trying to teach smaller numbers of English language learners across multiple grades without additional state funding.
-
Tennessee bumps base teacher pay up to $36,000
The newest upticks are expected to affect about 3,500 teachers in 62 mostly small or rural school systems now meeting the state’s lowest salary threshold.
-
Email Editions
Sign up for our morning and evening editions, plus breaking news.
Most Read Stories
-
1.
'Bluff City Law' Ep. 5 Recap: Breaking levees and Beale Street blues
-
2.
It’s always a beautiful day outside Bob Wilson’s window
-
3.
Central Station hotel, lobby bar on track to open this week
-
4.
Karen Carrier's Back Do/Mi Yard opens this week
-
5.
Herrington: 10 Grizzlies preseason stats that might matter