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  • Trousdale County Fosters Success with Personal Attention and Innovative Use of Data

    When students at Trousdale County High School see graduation coach Shelley Cook waiting for them after class, they usually know what brought her there. Maybe it’s a course grade starting to slip below passing, or a substantial assignment that wasn’t turned in. Trousdale County High – which is the only high school in SCORE Prize-winning…

  • Building Leadership at Multiple Levels, Grounded in Guiding Tenets

    Summary: Kingsport City Schools’ leadership model includes leadership positions found in typical school systems, but also goes well beyond the norm, including opportunities mostly found at the school level, where they are most needed.

  • Education on the Hill: 2012 Legislative Priorities

    This week the legislature will convene to start the second session of the 107th Tennessee General Assembly. Last year, we made great strides toward raising the standards in education and we need to continue looking forward. I applaud the Governor for listening to the feedback from teachers, superintendents, and other school officials by selecting SCORE…

  • Statewide network enables sharing of best practices

    Two weeks ago I stood in the gymnasium of Innovation Academy of Northeast Tennessee to participate in the ribbon cutting of the region’s new science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) middle school. An overflowing crowd of excited students, parents, business leaders, and elected officials lined the gymnasium and wound through the hallways to hear how…

  • Trust in data makes or breaks effective policy implementation

    As with meeting all education priorities, ensuring that data end up in the hands of the appropriate stakeholders, and that those stakeholders are empowered to use those data to inform their decisionmaking, takes ongoing investment of time, resources, and generally focused, diligent work. At DQC we have a handy catch phrase to describe the key…

  • VIDEO: Loudon County Schools

    The Loudon County School System plays an active role in changing the culture of education in the state. All facets of the system, from county administrators to principals and teachers, are dedicated to improving outcomes for students, no matter the challenges they face. The district’s work has contributed to improved levels of student achievement and…

  • Communicating the Data Message: Teacher Effectiveness

    Sometimes talking about the data implications of education policy can be tricky. In fact, I’ll be honest, trying to explain what I do at DQC to most people causes their eyes to glaze over. Bring up data and people’s minds immediately wander to excel spreadsheets, grad school research papers, and then quickly on to the…

  • Reflection: A Key Ingredient to Student Success

    As an educator for more than 30 years, I know that it’s almost impossible to get better without first honestly analyzing where you currently stand. Whether I was in the classroom, at the central office or in urban or rural communities, self-reflection was critical to helping me grow as a professional and – more importantly…

  • When “Schooling” and “Learning” Are Far from the Same

    As communities watch their children board big yellow school buses each morning, it is easy to assume that they are “going to school” where they are “going to learn.” Unfortunately, for many students across the nation, this assumption does not hold true, as these two phrases—“going to school” and “going to learn”—are far from synonymous.

  • The Importance of Sharing Best Practices

    When I first started my internship with SCORE, I remember hearing a lot about SCORE’s commitment to “sharing best practices.” At the time, I knew very little about what that meant, or what that would look like. Over the course of the semester however, I became familiar with what some of the best practices throughout…

  • Andersonville Teachers Take the Lead, Delivering Big Gains for Learners

    Breakfast is a social time at Andersonville Elementary, a 2015 SCORE Prize finalist school. Volunteers from a nearby church – many of whom are retirees – stop by first thing each morning to eat breakfast with the kids, open cartons of milk, and chat about the day ahead. “It’s the easiest thing to do. It…

  • Sweat the Small Stuff

    When Mia Howard, the Principal and founder of Intrepid College Prep, dropped off a book for all the new teachers to read before school started, I naturally expected it to be about the fundamentals of teaching. Therefore, when I looked down at the book The Power of a Lot of Little Things Done Well and…

  • A Look at the 2014 Teacher Preparation Report Card

    As Tennessee embraces higher academic standards and prepares students for a more competitive and demanding economy, the training that teachers receive is increasingly important. Research has shown time and again that teachers are the most important in-school factor in driving student achievement. As such, focusing on understanding and improving the quality of teacher preparation programs…

  • Letter from Jamie Woodson: Review Is Valuable Opportunity to Engage in Standards Conversation

    Dear Friends, Since SCORE was founded, we have supported student-centered education policies in Tennessee. Raising the bar in the classroom and other improvements in education have delivered unprecedented results for children. In particular, having high academic standards can help lead to students better prepared for postsecondary study and to reduced remediation rates. Importantly, all Tennesseans…

  • Statement on ESEA Reauthorization and Annual Assessment

    SCORE President and CEO Jamie Woodson sent a letter about the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) to members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions on February 4, 2015. Here are excerpts of that letter, which calls for continuing the annual assessment requirement: Tennessee has made notable…

  • All Students Supported Individually at Ravenwood

    Grady McGinnity, a senior at SCORE Prize finalist Ravenwood High School in Brentwood, wasn’t persuaded to take an advanced placement (AP) class by a teacher or guidance counselor. It was another student. At the time, Grady was a freshman just learning to navigate his large new high school. An upperclassman connected with him through Ravenwood’s…

  • Differentiated Instruction at Dresden Helps Students Achieve Their Best Work

    What is your level of effort? What is the best that you can give? These are questions asked of students daily at SCORE Prize winner Dresden Elementary, according to fourth-grade teacher Honey Cantrell. Students are encouraged to give “their absolute.” And in classrooms driven by creative, engaging, and differentiated instruction, teachers know that students’ best…

  • WCS Supports Schools in Well-Rounded Approach to Achieving Excellence

    Ever tried to change a tire without stopping the car? For Eric Lifsey, a principal in Williamson County Schools (WCS), that’s what it can feel like to implement even the most helpful of new practices. “You can’t stop school while you institute a change,” said Dr. Lifsey. “Being able to learn from others makes it…

  • Teachers Collaborate Across Disciplines at MLK

    How many drops of water can fit on the face side of a penny? It’s a tough question. Even if you can assume that all drops are made with a common, measurable dropper, there’s a lot involved. Cohesion between water molecules allows for surface tension, creating a bubble that holds more water than you might…

  • Half-Empty or Half-Full?

    Is the glass half-empty or half-full? My response to that simple question can be quite revealing. It’s a common question used to determine a person’s view or perspective about a particular circumstance. Am I a pessimist, realist, optimist, or opportunist? Regardless of my philosophical viewpoint, it is imperative to embrace two undeniable implications related to…