Supporting Effective Teaching in Tennessee:
Listening and Gathering Feedback on Tennessee’s Teacher Evaluations
SCORE’S Teacher Evaluation Feedback Process
During the first year of the implementation, the new teacher evaluation system is serving as a powerful platform for increasing
inspired, high-quality teaching across the state. As with any significant implementation process, challenges have arisen.
In December 2011, Governor Bill Haslam asked the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) to conduct
a formal statewide listening and feedback process, independent of state government, on Tennessee’s teacher evaluation
system. As part of the process, Governor Haslam asked SCORE to produce a report to the State Board of Education and
Department of Education that would reflect feedback from across the state and propose a range of policy considerations
for refining Tennessee’s teacher evaluation system moving forward. This feedback process complements other feedback
being collected by the Department of Education and the Tennessee Consortium on Research, Evaluation, and Development (TNCRED).
SCORE’s role in this process was to listen. SCORE collected feedback from stakeholders across the state including
teachers, principals, superintendents, parents, local and state officials, community and business leaders, and other citizens.
SCORE gathered feedback and input in the following ways:
• Held nine public roundtables in rural, urban, and suburban communities in all three grand divisions of the
state in February, March, and April of this year.
• Conducted an online questionnaire that was sent to all teachers and principals in every school district across
the state.
• Conducted in-depth interviews on teacher evaluation with leaders in Tennessee and across the nation,
including with educators overseeing each of the four approved evaluation models being used in Tennessee.
• ormed an Educator Work Team comprised of 22 teachers, principals, and district leaders from across the
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state.
• Received additional feedback from existing networks of teachers, principals, and district leaders, and fielded
input from numerous educators and citizens of the state.
This feedback process would not have been possible without the eight organizations who partnered with SCORE in
gathering critical input from educators and community members throughout Tennessee. They include the Tennessee
Education Association (TEA), Tennessee Principals Association, Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents
(TOSS), Tennessee School Boards Association (TSBA), Tennessee PTA, Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry,
Tennessee Business Roundtable, and Professional Educators of Tennessee (PET).
Positive feedback on the teacher evaluation System
Tennessee’s teacher evaluation system is improving both the quality of instruction in the classroom as well as the
establishment of accountability for student results.
In this process, SCORE received the following positive input on the system:
• Educators have much clearer and more rigorous performance expectations, along with an understanding of
what constitutes effective teaching.
• Educators are receiving more regular and specific feedback on their performance.
• Clear expectations and regular feedback are leading to more self-reflection and collaboration among teachers.
• New kinds of conversations have been generated about the improvement of instruction and outcomes for
students.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY