2015-16 Public Education in Tennessee: A Policymaker’s Guide | Page 19

academic content standards in science by 2005-06 and
aligned assessments based on those standards by 2007-08.
The science assessments must be administered at least once
in each of three grade spans: 3-5, 6-9, and 10-12.43

2012: Tennessee received a waiver from certain portions

of NCLB and adopted a new accountability system. Under
this new system, Tennessee holds districts accountable
for improving achievement for all students and reducing
achievement gaps that exist between groups of students.

TENNESSEE’S CURRENT ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM
While NCLB was focused on accountability at the school level,
Tennessee’s new accountability system focuses more on
school districts. Using data from TCAP assessments, districts
are identified as one of the following based on their student
achievement data:
•

Districts are labeled as Exemplary if they meet their overall
achievement goals, meet goals in terms of closing achievement
gaps, and ensure every subgroup including students with
disabilities, racial minorities, English learners, and students
from economically disadvantaged backgrounds are making
academic progress.

•

Districts are labeled In Need of Improvement if they fail to reach
the majority of their goals for student achievement and
achievement gap closure.

•

Districts are labeled as In Need of Subgroup Improvement if certain
groups of students are not reaching the district’s achievement
goals.44

While Tennessee’s accountability system is primarily
focused on districts, the TDOE also identifies three types of
schools as required by the USDOE under Tennessee’s ESEA
Flexibility Waiver:
•

Schools are labeled as reward schools if they are in the top 5
percent of schools in the state for performance or if they are in
the top 5 percent for year-over-year progress.

•

Schools are labeled as priority schools if they are in the bottom 5
percent in overall performance.

•

Focus schools are the 10 percent of schools with the largest

achievement gaps between sub-groups of students.

Accountability systems provide diverse stakeholders in
education with valuable information about how districts
and schools impact