2015-16 Public Education in Tennessee: A Policymaker’s Guide | Page 15

Below are the general components of teacher evaluations in
Tennessee:
MEASURE

TEACHERS WITH INDIVIDUAL
GROWTH SCORES

TEACHERS WITHOUT INDIVIDUAL
GROWTH SCORES

TVAAS

35%

25% (school-wide growth measures)

Other Student Achievement Data

15%

15%

Qualitative measures including
teacher observations, student
perception surveys, personal
conferences, etc.

50%

60%

[In December 2014, Governor Bill Haslam announced he would seek legislative approval of adjustments to the weighting of TVAAS data
in teacher evaluations during transition to a new assessment.]

TOPIC TIMELINE
Since 2011, teacher evaluation in Tennessee has undergone
several changes that reflect an ongoing commitment to
improving the teacher evaluation system in Tennessee.

January 2010: Tennessee passed the First to the Top Act, which
requires annual evaluations for teachers and school leaders.
The legislation created the Teacher Evaluation Advisory
Council (TEAC) to develop the statewide evaluation system.20
2011-12: Tennessee implemented the TEAM Evaluation system.
August 2012: TDOE made improvements to the teacher
evaluation system including increased flexibility for school
districts and developing better growth measures for teachers
in non-tested grades and subjects.21 22
August 2013: Responding to measures passed by the General
Assembly, TDOE initiated significant changes, including:

Piloting the use of student perception surveys in teacher
evaluations.
Including students with disabilities in teachers’ individual growth
scores.23 24
Allowing teachers who score a 4 or 5 on individual growth measures,
such as value-added scores, to use this score for 100% of their
evaluation total if this would result in a higher score than when using

and frequent classroom observations, is designed to improve
teaching quality to ensure that Tennessee’s students are
ready for college and career.

TEACHER PREPARATION
The first step in expanding student access to effective
teaching is improving the selectivity and quality of
teacher preparation programs. Currently, only five teacher
preparation programs in Tennessee consistently produce
teachers that outperform other teachers in the state,
indicating a need for the continued improvement of teacher
preparation programs in Tennessee.27 Over the past several
years, Tennessee has worked to systemically improve teacher
preparation programs through the development of higher
standards and more rigorous program approval processes.
Program approval processes are the legal process by which
the SBOE authorizes preparation programs to grant teachers a
teaching license. Similar to academic standards for students,
standards in preparation programs establish a common set
of expectations for educator preparation programs. These
standards aim to ensure that programs provide teacher
candidates with the knowledge and skillsets they need to
succeed once they enter the classroom. While Tennessee has
laid the foundation for improvements in teacher preparation
programs, it is essential to ensure that shifts in policy result
in actual change in programs on the ground.

the traditional formula.25

Since the First to the Top Act, Tennessee has worked to
support high quality teaching by developing a thorough
evaluation system. Statewide survey data suggest that
teachers now view the evaluation process to be more
effective in promoting effective teaching and student
achievement than in previous years.26 This system, based on
multiple measures including student achievement, growth,

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