In 2013, Tennessee reached an important milestone, becoming the fastest-improving state in
the nation in fourth- and eighth-grade math and reading on the National Assessment for Educational
Progress (NAEP), following only the District of Columbia.1 In 2014, Tennessee also saw significant improvements in student ACT scores, with composite scores increasing from a 19.5 to a 19.8. Tennessee
students, alongside students in Kentucky and Wyoming, showed the largest growth among the 12
states that require all students to take the ACT.2 These data serve as early indicators of the impact the
collaborative efforts of students, parents, teachers, school and district leaders, and state policymakers are having on student learning in Tennessee.
Beginning with the State Board of Education’s approval of
the Tennessee Diploma Project Standards in 2008 and the
passage of the First to the Top Act in 2010, Tennessee implemented a series of programs and policies collectively
aimed to prepare Tennessee students for success in college and career. As Tennessee works to maintain an impressive rate of student growth, it is important to recognize
and scale up best practices, acknowledge the challenges
still existing in classrooms across the state, and identify
innovative solutions to persistent problems.
While recent NAEP data indicate that Tennessee students
are showing growth in both math and reading, these and
other data also indicate that students ar