Supporting Effective Teaching in Tennessee: Executive Summary | Page 2

July 30, 2009
Dear Fellow Tennesseans,
Thank you for taking time to read the Tennessee State Collaborative on Reforming Education’s (SCORE)
interim report on “The State of Education in Tennessee.” I hope you find the report educational, engaging, and
encouraging.
I started SCORE earlier this year to jumpstart long-term educational change in Tennessee and to ensure that every
child graduates high school prepared for college or a career. Education is the most important issue in our state
and nation. Our children are entering a workforce that is the most competitive we have seen in our lifetime. Our
economy is truly global, and how well our students are learning is being measured on an international scale. As a
surgeon, I know the impact education has on all aspects of our life, including health. A recent study I led for the
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that education is one of the best predictors of health outcomes such as
life expectancy and infant mortality rate.
Over the past six months, SCORE has been working diligently to research the state of education in Tennessee. We
have already held six statewide meetings at the First Amendment Center in Nashville where we have heard from
leading education experts from in our state and around the country. Additionally, we have conducted hundreds
of one-on-one interviews and held over 40 town hall meetings across the state, learning from local officials and
educators about the successes they are having in their schools and the challenges they are facing.
This report is the first of two publications SCORE will release this year. This report’s primary purpose is to provide
a broad description of the K-12 education system in Tennessee and outline its relative strengths and weaknesses.
While most of the data in this report has been collected and previously reported by others, the unique role of this
report is to bring all this information together in a single place. By doing so, the hope is this report will assist the
SCORE Steering Committee, policymakers, and educators across the state in thinking about how to improve
Tennessee’s K-12 education system in a strategic and comprehensive manner.
Later this year, SCORE will release a final report with recommendations for improving the state’s K-12 education
system. The final report will draw on findings from this interim report as well as our statewide and town hall
meetings. I am confident our final report will build consensus about the path forward for Tennessee and identify
ways that each group in our state—whether it be the next Governor, the legislature, educators, or the business
community—can assist in moving our state’s educational system forward.
This report would not be possible without the work and support of many people, and I thank them for their
dedication to improving Tennessee’s schools. I also thank you for your support and taking time to learn more about
the state of education in Tennessee.
With warmest regards,

William H. Frist, M.D.

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