The middle school serves 395 fifth through eighth grade students in Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools. The open-lottery, non-selective magnet school has narrowed the achievement gap for black students by 11.4 percentage points in reading and 16.2 percentage points in math between 2010 and 2012 while showing significant growth for all students in those subjects. The school also has a three-year TVAAS average of 5.7 in math and 2.0 in reading, meaning that their students are making significant gains in those subjects. In addition, Rose Park has a strong school culture that focuses on engaging all partners, including parents, teachers, administrators, and students, in improving learning for students.

SCORE awarded the second annual SCORE Prize during an event at the historic Ryman Auditorium on Monday, October 8. The Prize was awarded to the elementary, middle, and high school in Tennessee, along with one school district that have most dramatically improved student achievement. As a Prize winner, Rose Park has received a $10,000 award, and will receive statewide recognition over the next year.

Finalists were selected through a weighted criteria selection process that took into account TVAAS growth and TCAP improvement. The process also factored in attendance rates, socioeconomic status, and college-readiness data such as ACT and college-going rates. Winners were selected following in-depth site visits to each of the finalist schools and districts. The middle school finalists for the middle school Prize included Power Center Academy (Memphis City Schools), Rose Park Math and Science Magnet (MNPS), and South Side Elementary (Henderson County). To learn more about Rose Park and the other finalists, visit: www.tnscore.org/scoreprize.

WHO: SCORE President and CEO Jamie Woodson, Mayor Karl Dean, MNPS Superintendent Dr. Jesse Register, Principal Bob Blankenship

WHAT: Banner Presentation

WHEN: Friday, December 7, 2012, 12:55pm.

WHERE:
Rose Park Math and Science Magnet
1205 9th Ave. S
Nashville, TN 37203

(Nashville) – The State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) today released a report, Supporting Effective Instruction in Tennessee, regarding Tennessee’s teacher evaluation system. The report follows a five-month listening and feedback process SCORE led on the evaluation system to identify what is working well, gather input on challenges and concerns, and report back with a range of recommendations to the Tennessee Department of Education and State Board of Education.

“SCORE’s role in this process has been to listen,” SCORE President and CEO Jamie Woodson said. “It is our hope that this report and its recommendations will build on key successes of the new teacher evaluation system and support improvements moving forward, while always keeping the focus on what it takes to improve student achievement in our state.”

Research shows that effective teaching is the most important school-based factor in improving student achievement. Tennessee is now completing the first year of implementing a new teacher evaluation system, designed to identify and support effective teaching.

In December 2011, Governor Bill Haslam asked SCORE to lead a statewide listening and feedback process, independent of state government, regarding the evaluation system. Since January, SCORE gathered more than 27,000 inputs from educators and other stakeholders across Tennessee. This input was collected through nine regional roundtables, an online questionnaire for educators, a work team of educators throughout the state, in-depth interviews on teacher evaluation with leaders in and outside of Tennessee, and existing networks of teachers, principals, and district leaders. SCORE’s work supplements additional ongoing feedback collected by the Tennessee Department of Education and by the Tennessee Consortium on Research, Evaluation, and Development (TNCRED).

SCORE heard consistent and positive feedback on many aspects of the evaluation, including that the system is improving both the quality of instruction and student results. SCORE also heard challenges related to the implementation of the new system, including perceptions that the evaluation is overly focused on accountability and not enough on improving and supporting effective teaching.

SCORE gathered this feedback and has provided seven specific recommendations to continue improving the evaluation system moving forward:

• Recommendation 1: Ensure current and prospective teachers and leaders receive sufficient training in the evaluation system.

• Recommendation 2: Link the feedback that teachers receive with high-quality, collaborative, and individualized professional learning opportunities so that they can improve their instruction. Tennessee’s teacher evaluation system needs to balance accountability for results with a focus on improving instruction, which is the key to improving student outcomes. To do so, the Department of Education and districts must provide meaningful professional learning opportunities and support to help teachers improve.

• Recommendation 3: Address challenges with the current quantitative and qualitative measures of teacher effectiveness. Many of the issues that have arisen are not due to problems with the First to the Top plan for teacher evaluation, but rather from the remaining gaps in the development and implementation of measures of the evaluation system. We recommend these gaps in the quantitative measure and some missing elements in the qualitative measure be addressed as soon as possible. For example, we recommend the state offer teachers in non-tested grades and subjects (who do not yet have individual student growth, or value-added, data) the option of temporarily increasing the weighting of the qualitative portion of the evaluation.

• Recommendation 4: Support school and district leaders in becoming strong instructional leaders capable of assessing and developing effective teaching – and hold them accountable for doing so.

• Recommendation 5: Re-engage educators in those districts where implementation of the teacher evaluation system has faltered during the first year of work.

• Recommendation 6: Integrate the ongoing implementation of the teacher evaluation system and the Common Core State Standards so that they work together to improve student outcomes. All of the approved evaluation models should reflect the shifts in instruction that will be required as Tennessee implements higher, more rigorous academic standards through the Common Core State Standards.

• Recommendation 7: Drive continuous improvement of the teacher evaluation system at the state, district, and school levels. Leaders and educators must commit to improving the teacher evaluation system on an ongoing basis to maximize its impact on student achievement. For example, school districts should apply for flexibility from the Department of Education (an option currently available) to address their unique issues and concerns.

“We appreciate the tremendous support of our partners who assisted SCORE in gathering valuable feedback from educators and citizens across the state,” Woodson said. “The evaluation system that Tennessee is implementing is already improving the quality of teaching in the classroom and is supporting inspired, high-quality instruction in many districts. As needed refinements are made, the system will realize its full potential as a powerful platform for supporting effective instruction across the state and, therefore, gains in student achievement and growth.”

The following organizations partnered with SCORE to gather feedback from educators and other stakeholders: the Tennessee Education Association (TEA), Tennessee Business Roundtable, Tennessee School Boards Association (TSBA), Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents (TOSS), Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Tennessee PTA, Tennessee Principals Association, and Professional Educators of Tennessee (PET).

The executive summary of the report can be downloaded here.

The full report can be downloaded here.

(Nashville) – The State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) today launched the Rural Education Network, a group of education leaders from throughout Tennessee and the nation that is committed to improving public education in rural communities. The network will help identify, spread, and share best practices in rural education, foster learning among network members, and provide SCORE with policy direction on rural education issues.

“We can’t ignore students in our rural communities,” said Jamie Woodson, President and CEO of SCORE. “In Tennessee, four out of 10 students attend school in a rural district, a number that is growing faster than in any other state. These communities face unique educational challenges, from lower college-going and completion rates to higher poverty rates and household mobility. The Rural Network will be critical in driving student success in rural schools.”

The announcement of the Network follows the Southeast Regional Rural Education Summit, held in Nashville in July 2011, which attracted more than 500 educators, policymakers, and community leaders from 19 states. After the Summit, SCORE released the report Transforming the Rural South, which identified 34 specific recommendations to improve rural education. An important priority for the Network will be sharing their work that is aligned with this report to a broad group of rural educators.

“Rural communities often have fewer opportunities to share what’s working and collaborate to solve problems,” said Jason Vance, Superintendent of Loudon County Schools (TN) and a network member. “The members of this network are doing innovative work to improve student achievement despite the challenges they face and we will be using this opportunity to learn from one another.”

Founding network members include:

• Autumn Tooms Cypres, Director, Center for Educational Leadership, University of Tennessee Knoxville
• Bobbi Lussier, Assistant Commissioner for Special Education and Special Populations, Tennessee Department of Education
• David Cook, Director of Innovation and Partner Engagement, Kentucky Department of Education
• Dr. Candice McQueen, Dean, College of Education, Lipscomb University
• Dr. Gina Kunz, National Center for Research on Rural Education
• Dr. Lionel “Bo” Beaulieu, Director, Southern Rural Development Center
• Dr. Pat Ashley, Executive Director, District and School Transformation, North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
• Dreama Gentry, Director, Externally Sponsored Programs, Berea College
• Jan McKeel, Executive Director, South Central Tennessee Workforce Alliance
• Jason Vance, Director of Schools, Loudon County Schools (2011 SCORE Prize finalist)
• Joshua Mason, Principal, Jo Byrns High School (2011 SCORE Prize finalist)
• Linda Irwin, Director of School Partnerships, Niswonger Foundation
• Lisa Hankins, REDI Director, Southwest Tennessee Development District
• Malissa Johnson, Principal, Charlotte Elementary (2011 SCORE Prize finalist)
• Mark Willoughby, Director of Schools, DeKalb County Schools
• Robert Mahaffey, Director of Communications and Marketing, Rural School and Community Trust

The State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) collaboratively supports Tennessee’s work to prepare students for college and the workforce. We are an independent, non-profit, and non-partisan advocacy and research institution, founded by former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.

(Nashville) – The State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) today announced details of a statewide feedback process on Tennessee’s new teacher evaluation system at a meeting of the State Board of Education. The process, which is designed to gather input from a wide range of voices, particularly from educators, follows a charge by Governor Bill Haslam to conduct a formal feedback process, independent of state government.

“Great teaching is the number one school-based factor in improving student achievement,” SCORE President and CEO Jamie Woodson said. “Our state is now in the first year of implementing a teacher evaluation system to identify and foster great teaching. Critical to the success of this implementation work is robust and extensive feedback from educators and community leaders to identify what is working and what can be improved. Over the next four months, SCORE’s role will be to listen.”

From February through May 2012, SCORE will gather feedback and input in four ways:

• Regional Roundtables: SCORE will facilitate eight public regional roundtables across the state. Roundtable participants will include teachers, principals, superintendents, parents, and community and business leaders.
• Online Survey: Beginning March 1, SCORE will launch an online survey to gather feedback on current teacher evaluation practices and policies from educators.
• Discussions with existing groups and networks: SCORE will gather feedback from existing groups, such as superintendent, principal, and supervisor study councils, as well as leaders and educators from each of the four evaluation models.
• Educator Work Team: SCORE will convene a representative group of teachers and principals from across the state to provide ongoing feedback.

Seven organizations have partnered with SCORE to gather feedback from educators and community leaders. They include: Tennessee Education Association (TEA), Tennessee School Boards Association (TSBA), Tennessee Business Roundtable, Tennessee PTA, Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents (TOSS), Professional Educators of Tennessee (PET), and the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

More details on the regional roundtables and educator survey are available at www.tnscore.org/feedback.

Following the feedback process, SCORE will produce a report to the Tennessee State Board of Education and Department of Education. The report, which will be completed by June 1, will provide a catalogue of feedback from across the state on the four approved evaluation models and will propose a range of policy considerations for teacher evaluation moving forward. SCORE’s work will be led by Dr. Sharon Roberts, who has served as a teacher, principal, and superintendent in Tennessee, and now works as the Chief Operating Officer at SCORE.

The State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) collaboratively supports Tennessee’s work to prepare students for college and the workforce. We are an independent, non-profit, and non-partisan advocacy and research institution, founded by former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.

By Jamie Woodson

Earlier this month, the Tennessee Department of Education released our state’s 2011 results on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Tennessee students scored about the same as two years ago.

But by standing still, we dropped in the national rankings — from 45th to 46th in the nation in fourth-grade math, and 34th to 41st in eighth-grade reading. These results remind us that our work has just begun to ensure every child graduates from high school prepared for post-secondary education and the workforce.

Still, it has been encouraging to see the growing sense of urgency among Tennesseans to make meaningful improvements in public education for our state’s highest-need students. We know that to create a truly effective system it will require hard work, collaboration, sound policies, and most certainly the energy of strong leaders in our classrooms.

In 2009, SCORE issued its “Roadmap to Success.” Based on the consensus of state education, political, business and community leaders, it detailed more than 60 policy recommendations aimed at embracing high academic standards, cultivating strong school and district leaders, ensuring excellent teachers are in every classroom, and using data to enhance student learning.

One of the key recommendations in SCORE’s report was a charge to ensure that teacher training programs in our state are producing high-quality teacher candidates who meet the needs of local school districts. We proposed revising the “teacher training report card” to measure the success and effectiveness of teachers in the classroom after they have completed teacher training programs.

The 2011 Tennessee Higher Education Commission Teacher Training Program Report Card, also released this month, provides vital information on teachers who graduate from a range of training programs. Of the state’s 43 programs, three stand out: Teach For America Memphis, Teach For America Nashville and Lipscomb University.

The report says these programs “tend to produce teachers with higher student achievement gains than veteran teachers.” For example, 52 percent of Teach For America Nashville teachers ranked above the 80th percentile in effectiveness, and 64 percent of Teach For America Nashville algebra teachers ranked in the 80th percentile or higher.

While the Report Card is only one source of information regarding teacher preparation programs, the information should not be ignored. Research shows that effective teaching is the top school-based factor in improving student achievement. Learning what works and what doesn’t to successfully prepare teachers for the classroom can improve the quality of instruction for more of our students.

Ultimately, Tennessee must continue seeking robust approaches to bring in new talent, and support teachers and administrators to meet the educational challenges our state faces. Innovative traditional preparation programs, as well as alternative pathways to teaching and leadership, are both important pieces of this complex puzzle.

(Nashville) – Jamie Woodson, President and CEO of the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE), announced today that Dr. Sharon Roberts will join the organization as Chief Operating Officer. Roberts, who currently serves as Director of the Lebanon Special School District, will begin her new role at SCORE on January 2, 2012.

“Sharon Roberts is recognized as one of Tennessee’s most outstanding educators, having spent over 30 years as a teacher, school administrator, and district leader,” Woodson said. “SCORE is focused on the successful implementation of our state’s education reform efforts, and Sharon’s leadership will be critical to supporting this work. We are thrilled she will be joining our team, and are excited about the perspective and background she brings as an experienced practitioner.”

In her role as Chief Operating Officer, Dr. Roberts will lead SCORE’s outreach program, targeting and engaging stakeholders across the state. Her work will include driving statewide reform efforts through information and guidance, maintaining and deepening relationships with education partners, and identifying successes and challenges in implementation. Roberts will also have a leadership role in SCORE’s organizational operations, working with the CEO and staff to further SCORE’s mission, vision, and strategic plan.

Dr. Roberts is a native of Knoxville, and received her Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctoral degrees from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. She began her career in education in 1981 as a special education teacher in the Grainger County School System. She also worked for more than 21 years in the Knox County School System where she served as a special education teacher, middle school science and reading teacher, instructional coach, principal, Assistant Superintendent for Supplementary Student Services, and Assistant Superintendent for Administrative Services. Roberts was appointed Director of Schools for the Lebanon Special School District in 2005 and is President of the Association of Independent and Municipal Schools (AIMS) Evaluation System of Tennessee, where she has overseen the implementation of one of the state’s three alternative teacher evaluation models. Dr. Roberts currently serves as a member of the Tennessee State Board of Education’s Advisory Council on Teacher Education and Certification, and the Tennessee Board of Regents Teacher Education Redesign Director of Schools Advisory Board.

“SCORE has a clear goal – for Tennessee to become the fastest improving state in the nation in terms of student achievement,” Roberts said. “I am thrilled about the opportunity to work with educators, administrators, parents, and community members throughout the state to make that goal a reality. I will certainly miss the Lebanon Special School District community, but look forward to working with Lebanon and many other school districts across Tennessee in this new role.”

Dr. Roberts will leave her role as Director of the Lebanon Special School District on January 1, 2012.

The State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works with state and local governments to encourage sound policy decisions in public education and advance innovative reform on a statewide basis.

(Nashville) – The State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) today launched a website to highlight best practices in public education in Tennessee. The site, which can be accessed at www.tnscore.org/scoreprize, highlights the work of the eight finalists and four winners of the 2011 SCORE Prize, which was awarded to the elementary, middle, and high school in Tennessee, along with one school district, that most dramatically improved student achievement in spite of the many challenges they face. The site also features a highlight video of the 2011 SCORE Prize event, held in late September, which includes remarks from SCORE Chairman Bill Frist and Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam, as well as a musical performance by country music star Josh Turner.

“Our aim is to identify and share the steps that have been taken to improve student achievement,” SCORE President and CEO Jamie Woodson said. “This website showcases the incredible work being done by teachers, principals, and district leaders across Tennessee.”

The website provides detailed data, including attendance rates and progress in narrowing achievement gaps, on the SCORE Prize winners and finalists, and video interviews that document the path the schools and districts have taken to improve student achievement. Information on the annual SCORE Prize selection process is also included.

The State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works with state and local governments to encourage sound policy decisions in public education and advance innovative reform on a statewide basis.

(Nashville) – The State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) tonight announced the four winners of the first annual SCORE Prize Award at an event at the historic Ryman Auditorium. The winners, three schools and one school district, were recognized for dramatically improving student achievement in spite of the challenges they face. The awards show featured remarks from Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam, SCORE Chairman and former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, Tennessee Commissioner of Education Kevin Huffman, and SCORE CEO Jamie Woodson. The evening concluded with a performance by Grammy-nominated country music artist Josh Turner.

The 2011 SCORE Prize winners are:

• Elementary
  Fairview Elementary, Anderson County
• Middle
  Power Center Academy, Memphis
• High
  Mt. Juliet High School, Wilson County
• District
  Maryville City Schools

“Tonight is a celebration of excellence in public education,” said SCORE Chairman Bill Frist. “The SCORE Prize winners are truly examples of success, and prove that even in the face of challenges it is possible to improve learning outcomes for all students. We recognize and commend their accomplishments in preparing more and more students for college and the workforce.”

The SCORE Prize school winners received $10,000, and the district winner received $25,000. Winners were chosen in a two-step process; the first stage identified finalists through a multi-staged criteria selection process that set benchmarks for attendance rate, TVAAS growth, and TCAP improvement, and awarded bonus points for ACT college-readiness benchmark rates and college-going rates, among others; the second stage consisted of site visits of the finalists to document the policies and practices that have enabled schools and districts to make significant gains in student achievement.

About the Winners

• Fairview Elementary serves 278 students in Anderson County. 60.6 percent of the school’s students are economically disadvantaged. In the last year, the school has increased its number of students who are proficient or advanced on the math TCAP from the 30th decile to the 50th decile. Fairview’s three-year TVAAS growth average is 14.01 in math and 8.99 in reading.
• Power Center Academy serves 191 students in Memphis. The school is a charter school, and 85 percent of the school’s students are economically disadvantaged. In the last year, the school has increased its number of students who are proficient or advanced on the math TCAP from the 20th to the 30th decile. Power Center Academy’s three-year TVAAS growth average is 9.72 in math and 6.93 in reading. Over the last year, the school has narrowed the achievement gap between economically disadvantaged and non-economically disadvantaged students by 9.82 points in reading and 18.66 points in math.
• Mt. Juliet High School serves 1,775 students in Wilson County. The school’s three-year TVAAS growth average is 8.38 in Algebra I and 5.72 in English II. Over the last year, the school has narrowed the achievement gap between Hispanic and white students by 16.41 points in math. The school’s three-year ACT average is 21.
• Maryville City Schools serves 4,890 students in East Tennessee. 33.1 percent of the district’s students are economically disadvantaged. The district’s three-year TVAAS growth average is 14.3 in math, 3.8 in reading, 5.0 in Algebra I, and 4.0 in English II. The district’s three-year ACT average is 23.8. Over the last year, the district has narrowed the achievement gap between Hispanic and white students by 29.33 points in math.

In the coming weeks, SCORE will release videos and case studies of all 12 SCORE Prize finalists. This work will be used to highlight best practices in improving public education in Tennessee.

The State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works with state and local governments to encourage sound policy decisions in public education and advance innovative reform on a statewide basis.

(Nashville) – The State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) today released a report outlining specific recommendations to improve public education in rural communities in the South. The recommendations in Transforming the Rural South: A Roadmap to Improving Rural Education are based on research, best practices, and voices from rural communities across Tennessee and throughout the Southeast. The report, released jointly with the Ayers Foundation, Niswonger Foundation, Rural School and Community Trust, and the Tennessee School Boards Association, follows the Southeast Regional Rural Education Summit, which was held in Nashville on July 19-20, 2011.

“In Tennessee and across the South, the success and economic vibrancy of our rural communities are critically tied to quality public education,” SCORE President and CEO Jamie Woodson said. “The priorities and action items detailed in this report serve to highlight not only what must happen inside the classroom and the school house, but also what needs to happen in the community to improve rural education.”

The report outlines six priorities, with action items for each priority. The priorities include:

• Highlighting the connection between education and economic development
• Offering schools and districts more flexibility
• Forming a pipeline of effective teachers
• Using technology to meet instructional needs
• Creating professional learning communities for administrators
• Forming partnerships to enhance educational opportunities

The 34 action items in the report are targeted specifically to various education stakeholders. For example, school districts are encouraged to partner with nearby districts to recruit and retain highly effective teaching candidates who can serve as content specialists in critical subjects like reading and math across district lines. Local elected officials should make investing in public education the top priority to improve local economic development. The postsecondary community should enhance its teacher preparation programs to expose candidates to actual teaching settings in rural communities as a dual strategy to improve teacher effectiveness and recruitment to rural schools. Most importantly, business and community leaders should continue to stress the individual and community importance of obtaining a high school diploma and pursuing postsecondary training and education.

“Rural communities face unique challenges in improving public education,” said Linda Irwin, Director of School Partnerships at the Niswonger Foundation. “This plan of action serves as a guiding document to give all stakeholders, from parents to school districts, a clear roadmap that is tailored to the unique rural environment.”

The full report can be viewed here: http://www.tnscore.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/SCORE-Rural-Education-Roadmap.pdf

The State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works with state and local governments to encourage sound policy decisions in public education and advance innovative reform on a statewide basis.

In the last few years, Tennessee has committed to bold education reform through an ambitious and aggressive plan to transform our public schools and improve student achievement. Reform is critical to ensuring students graduate from high school prepared for college or the workforce.

This is hard work. While we have a long way to go to reach our goals, significant progress is being made in Tennessee. Because we have set higher standards and are expecting more of students, they are achieving more.

A challenge that Tennessee faces is fitting this bold reform plan within a meaningful federal accountability framework. Tennessee has set a high bar for improving student achievement, and I applaud Governor Haslam and Commissioner Huffman for being innovative about aligning Tennessee’s transformational roadmap with an accountability framework that is focused on student achievement.

The State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works with state and local governments to encourage sound policy decisions in public education and advance innovative reform on a statewide basis.