In 2013, Tennessee reached an important milestone, becoming the fastest-improving state in the nation in fourth- and eighth-grade math and reading on the National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP), following only the District of Columbia.1 In 2014, Tennessee also saw significant improvements in student ACT scores, with composite scores increasing from a 19.5 to a 19.8. Tennessee students, alongside students in Kentucky and Wyoming, showed the largest growth among the 12 states that require all students to take the ACT.2 These data serve as early indicators of the impact the collaborative efforts of students, parents, teachers, school and district leaders, and state policymakers are having on student learning in Tennessee.
