2015-16 Public Education in Tennessee: A Policymaker’s Guide | Page 12

ACADEMIC STANDARDS
In 2007, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Leaders & Laggards
report gave Tennessee an “F” for truth in advertising about
student proficiency levels and an “F” for postsecondary
readiness. While Tennessee reported that over 90 percent of
students in grades 3-8 were proficient in math and reading,
less than 30 percent of fourth- and eighth-grade students
in Tennessee were proficient on the National Assessment
of Educational Progress.2 This spurred action in Tennessee,
beginning with a shift toward a set of new academic
standards that more closely align with the skills and
knowledge students need to succeed in college and career.
Academic standards are a common set of expectations
that establish desired learning outcomes for students at
each subject and grade level. Standards are different from
curriculum, as standards define what students should learn,
while curriculum is the locally developed way to arrive at
that knowledge. For this reason, improvements in academic
standards lay the foundation for improved student learning
by ensuring that expectations for student achievement are
aligned with the skills students need for success after high
school.

TOPIC TIMELINE
Here are key recent events in the development of academic

standards in Tennessee:

January 2008: The SBOE adopted the Tennessee Diploma

Project Standards. These standards were more closely
aligned with the skills and knowledge students need to
succeed in college and career.

July 2009: A coalition of governors, including Tennessee’s

Governor, came together to develop the Common Core
State Standards. Alongside the National Governor’s
Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers,
these governors aimed to ensure the Common Core State
Standards would set higher expectations for student
achievement and accomplish a goal of improved student
success in college and career.

July 2010: The SBOE adopted the Common Core State
Standards as Tennessee’s State Standards in English
language arts and math.
August 2011: Tennessee implemented new English language
arts and math standards in kindergarten through second
grade.

July 2012: TDOE selected and trained 200 math teachers
to serve as Core Coaches and provide professional
development on the new math standards to other teachers
around the state. Core Coaches provided professional
learning opportunities on the new standards to 13,000
Tennessee math teachers.

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August 2012: Tennessee implemented the new math
standards in grades 3-8.
July 2013: After receiving feedback from Tennessee
educators and reviewing national examples of social
studies standards, SBOE approved a new set of standards
for social studies.3
July 2013: TDOE selected and trained an additional 700
teachers to serve as Core Coaches. These Core Coaches
provided professional learning opportunities on the new
standards to nearly 30,000 teachers.4 The trainings in 2012
and 2013 were the largest trainings conducted by the TDOE
in its history.
August 2013: Tennessee implemented new standards in

English language arts and math in all subjects and grades.

May 2014: Senate Bill 1835/House Bill 1549 passed which

reaffirmed Tennessee’s sovereignty over academic
standards, created more protections for student data with
the implementation of a new assessment, and prevented
the adoption of standards that were developed by a
consortium of states in subjects beyond English language
arts and math.5

July 2014: Core Coaches provided professional learning

opportunities to an additional 20,000 Tennessee teachers
on the new standards.

August 2014: The new social studies standards were
implemented in the 2014-15 school year.6
October 2014: Governor Bill Haslam announced a public
review process of Tennessee’s State Standards for English
language arts and math. Academic standards in Tennessee
are typically reviewed every six years. As a result of current
discussion on the standards, Governor Haslam expressed
his desire to provide an opportunity for all stakeholders,
particularly teachers, to share feedback on the standards
after four years of implementation.7
Over the past several years, Tennessee has invested in efforts
to ensure Tennessee students graduate from high school
prepared for college and the workforce. These efforts include