The State of Education in Tennessee: Expanding Student Access to Great Teaching
Teachers must have access
to instructional coaching,
collaborative planning time,
and targeted professional
learning.
able views if they were using one of the alternative models.
The Tennessee Department of Education plans to continue to
examine the data and use educator feedback to inform ongoing improvements.xxvi
As part of the state’s efforts to improve and connect different
aspects of the teaching profession, the State Board of Education (SBOE) revised policies in 2013 related to teacher compensation and educator licensing. By streamlining the state
minimum salary schedule and broadening differentiated pay
plan guidelines required by Tennessee Law, the revised compensation policies provide local districts with additional flexibility in determining criteria for educator pay. These changes
support Tennessee’s efforts to encourage school districts to
move away from a one-size-fits-all approach to professional capital decisions and develop new and innovative ways
to support effective teaching. Differentiated pay plans allow
districts to align resources with local goals and priorities for
improving student achievement. This will require districts
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to reexamine existing resources,
budgets, and funding levels as
they determine compensation
plans to meet local needs.
The revised educator licensure
policy seeks to streamline the process for educators to renew and
advance their licenses. The policy
also introduces more rigorous entry requirements, reduces the duration of a license and connects
advancement and renewal to a
minimum level of performance
on the teacher evaluation system.
Under the new policy, teachers
will begin with a practitioner license, valid for three years,
and advance to a professional license, valid for six years, provided they meet minimum performance expectations. Those
meeting the minimum performance expectations will have
their license automatically renewed. The policy is scheduled
to take effect August 1, 2015. The State Board of Education
plans to use the interim time to study the policy and consider
feedback to improve the system.xxvii This interim period is an
opportunity for educators and district leaders across the state
to engage in the policy conversation about licensure and contribute ideas for continuing to improve the process.
Initiatives are under way to strengthen teacher preparation
programs and ensure that pre-service teachers are prepared
to be successful in today’s classrooms and schools. Since
2010, the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC)
has been working to improve the reporting system and use
available data to evaluate teacher preparation programs. The
annual Report Card on the Effectiveness of Teacher Training
Programs provides outcome-based information, including
placement and retention rates, Praxis scores, and value-added
data for the traditional and alternative preparation programs
in the state. The 2013 report also included trend data for the
first time, highlighting the programs with consistent positive
value-added results, as well as those with consistent negative
results over the last three ye