Chalkbeat

Education news. In context.

Chalkbeat

Tennessee

Bill Lee

Sticking points

Tennessee
3 days ago

Pro-voucher groups want clarity on private school background checks for new Tennessee program

Three pro-voucher groups express concern about a proposed rule regarding background checks for employees at private schools accepting taxpayer money.

Voter voices

Tennessee
October 11, 2019

Support for TNReady rebounds after problem-free testing year, says new poll

Three years of technical problems and controversy surrounding the testing program don’t appear to have dampened Tennesseans’ support for annual tests.

Lee's List

Tennessee
Updated September 30, 2019

Tennessee governor appoints members of new state charter school commission

Gov. Bill Lee named nine Tennesseans Monday to serve on a new commission overseeing charter schools across the state.

Kickoff

Tennessee
September 27, 2019

Pearson is ramping up as Tennessee’s new testing company. Here’s how.

Leaders with Pearson Inc. have criss-crossed Tennessee for the last month as the testing giant takes over the job of managing standardized testing.

Accountability

Tennessee
September 23, 2019

Schwinn retreats — for now — from changing how Tennessee judges its schools

Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn says she is backing off from pursuing changes to the way Tennessee judges its public schools this school year.

Rules & Regs

Tennessee
Updated September 19, 2019

Tennessee fast-tracks voucher rules, but concerns resurface about testing accountability

The State Board of Education has given preliminary approval to a gamut of regulations governing the controversial program.

whoa there

Tennessee
Updated September 13, 2019

Tennessee lawmakers tell education chief to slow down on school accountability changes

Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn wants to change the way the state judges its public schools.

Accountability

Tennessee
September 10, 2019

A renewed debate in Tennessee: Should schools be judged by how much students know, or how much they grow?

Commissioner Penny Schwinn's agenda may include changes to how Tennessee schools are evaluated.

changeup

Tennessee
Updated August 23, 2019

Tennessee replaces its voucher-friendly House speaker with a voucher opponent

Rep. Cameron Sexton, a Republican from Crossville, is overwhelmingly elected as the chamber's top leader.

Teacher satisfaction

Tennessee
August 22, 2019

One in three Tennessee teachers wants to leave the profession, survey says

Results from the latest Tennessee Educator Survey are both encouraging and troubling as fewer candidates pursue the teaching profession.

heads up

Tennessee
August 14, 2019

Six things to know about Tennessee’s TNReady scores coming out this week

Tennessee is set to release results of its annual tests for public school students on Thursday, marking the fourth year of scores in the era known as TNReady.

six years

Tennessee
July 16, 2019

Tennessee school turnaround models either haven’t worked or are stalling out, new research finds

“We feel confident at this point saying that the strategy followed for the ASD hasn’t produced positive results for students we’d hoped to see,” said one researcher.

money matters

Tennessee
July 11, 2019

Tennessee governor promises ‘funding will be there’ for early voucher start

The legislature approved $770,000 for startup expenses this year while setting a two-year deadline to enroll students in the program. 

Accelerated

Tennessee
July 10, 2019

Tennessee’s governor wants education voucher program to launch a year ahead of deadline

The controversial new program could begin in the fall of 2020 instead of 2021.

Early literacy

Tennessee
July 2, 2019

Tennessee’s summer reading camps are popular, getting results — and in peril

Federal funding has dried up for the popular program now serving 9,000 students in two-thirds of the state's school districts.
‹