• The number of high-quality district and school leaders must be
increased by creating a statewide leadership initiative focused on
enhancing the scope and quality of existing leadership training
programs.
• Data must be used on a continual basis and managed in a way
that allows educators to differentiate instruction and provide lowperforming students with more time on task.
• High school graduates must be provided more pathways for
transitioning into the workplace or postsecondary education. Critical
to increasing these pathways is identifying low-cost ways to expand
e-learning, dual enrollment, dual credit, early college high schools,
Advanced Placement, and International Baccalaureate courses.
The following pages detail these and other recommendations, all of
which are practical, achievable, and high-impact. Recognizing these are
tough budget times for state government, all these recommendations
can be implemented without any new state funding in the short term,
although four priorities for additional long-term state funding are
identified. Members of SCORE’s Steering Committee are already
coming together with business and philanthropic leaders to raise
the private-sector funds necessary to provide start-up funding to
implement many of these recommendations.
When successfully implemented, this roadmap will make Tennessee
schools #1 in the Southeast within five years, as measured by multiple
metrics including the percent of students scoring a 21 or above on the
ACT. Achieving this goal will not be easy—it will require everyone
working together. Whether you are a school board member, state
legislator, school leader, teacher, parent, or student, we urge you to turn
to the section of this report addressed to you and consider what you can
do to help improve our schools. Working together, we can meet our goal
of being #1 in the Southeast within five years and, in so doing, ensure
that all Tennessee children receive the education they deserve.
1
Public Education Foundation. (2009, January 28). Volkswagen Interview with
Jill Bratina. Retrieved from http://pefchattanooga.org/tabid/358/Default.
aspx#epod.
2
National Center for Education Statistics. (2007). National Assessment of
Educational Progress: The Nation’s Report Card. [Data File]. Washington,
DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
3
The National Center for Higher Education Management Systems. (2006).
Student Pipeline—Transition and Completion Rates from 9th Grade to
College. Retrieved from www.higheredinfo.org.
4
Calculated Risk Finance & Economics. (2009, June). Unemployment Rate
and Level of Education. Retrieved from http://www.calculatedriskblog.
com/2009/06/unemployment-rate-and-level-of.html.
5
U.S. Census Bureau. (2007). Current Population Survey: Annual Social and
Economic Supplement.
6
$