STATE OF EDUCATION IN TENNESSEE: 2012-2013 – Section I: Year in Review
signed, to keep the results of the
teacher evaluation process private.16
This is important because it allows
for refinements to be made to the
evaluation system without subjecting educators to public scrutiny.
However, as the system is improved,
parents and community members
may push for greater transparency.
As implementation of the new evaluation system progresses, it is crucial
that the state continue to make
refinements to the system without
sacrificing the original vision.
Teacher Preparation
Tennessee is one of a few states
that has been able to link teacher
performance data back to an individual teacher’s preparation program
and has made the results available
through the Report Card on the
Effectiveness of Teacher Training
Programs, which has been published
every year since 2008. The 2012
Report Card shows that while there
are several programs producing
highly effective graduates across
the state, there is also significant
work to be done to ensure that all
teacher candidates are entering the
field ready to effectively educate
all children. While the Report Card
highlights broad areas in need of
improvement, refinements could be
made to make it a more useful tool
for programs. In particular, detailed
information on specific areas within
a preparation program (such as the
difference between graduate and
undergraduate program performance) would help pinpoint areas
that need to be strengthened. As
a dean at a college of education
in Tennessee said, “More comprehensive identification of graduates
and the ability to accurately identify
graduates associated with specific
programs would be helpful.”17
In 2012, the Tennessee General Assembly passed legislation allowing
teacher preparation programs to
have access to value-added data for
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their graduates. With this change
in legislation, the Tennessee Higher
Education Commission (THEC)
plans to provide individual program
reports that will dig deeper into the
data and enable programs to have a
more in depth analysis of their graduates’ performance in the classroom.
The first set of individual program
reports is anticipated to be released
in March 2013, with a second set to
be released with the public Report
Card in November 2013. 18
As reforms are implemented in
schools and districts across the state,
it is critical that prospective teachers receive the appropriate training
before they enter the classroom.
In Tennessee’s current landscape,
this means that teacher candidates
need to understand ѡ