Tennessee exemplifies the improved student performance and higher levels of teacher professionalism states can attain through federal Race to the Top education reforms, wrote U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan in a column for the Huffington Post. 

Convenes higher ed leaders to discuss affordability, quality and workforce development
 
NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today called together post-secondary education leaders from across the state along with statewide business organizations to discuss the importance of a comprehensive and coordinated focus on the issues of affordability, the quality of our Tennessee colleges, universities and technology centers, and how to do a better job of matching the skills state institutions are teaching with the needs of employers.  

NASHVILLE – More than 13,000 Tennessee teachers began training today on the Common Core State Standards, a set of nationally recognized criteria that raise expectations for Tennessee s

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Statewide assessments show achievement gains for second year in a row
 
NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and State Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman today announced that statewide student performance on the 2012 Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) improved for the second year in a row, as the state continues to push toward academic achievement through its First to the Top education reforms.
 
Students reached higher levels of proficiency in 23 of 24 TCAP achievement tests in grades three through eight.  Achievement also increased on most high school “End of Course” exams.

NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Department of Education announces the state’s i

Governor: We are committed to making the evaluation systems as strong as it can be
 
NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today released a statement about the comprehensive report on the state’s teacher evaluation system issued by independent non-profit State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE).
 
In December 2011, Haslam asked SCORE to collect input and feedback on Tennessee’s teacher evaluation system, a key piece of the First to the Top legislation that positioned Tennessee to be one of the first two states awarded Race to the Top funding.

NASHVILLE — Eighth-grade students in Tennessee scored higher in science than they did two years prior, according to the latest results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, also known as the Nation’s Report Card.

About 28 percent of students in Tennessee scored at or above proficient in science in 2009, compared to nearly 31 percent in 2011, while the average scale score went up from 148 to 150. Tennessee ranks 32nd out of 50 states and the District of Columbia in NAEP science results.

Also announces more than $37 million in grants to turn around low-performing schools

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today signed the piece of his 2012 legislative agenda that redefines school accountability in the state and waives Tennessee from portions of the federal No Child Left Behind law.

Surrounded by educators from across the state and students, Haslam also announced more than $37 million in federal grants for three school districts to assist in their efforts to turn around low-performing schools.