Co-Planning to Improve Outcomes for Students With Disabilities: Lessons From IGNITE Nashville
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Innovative Models | K-12 Success
Connecting the Dots: The Environment’s Impact on Student Success
October 14, 2025
In 2024, SCORE launched the Connecting the Dots series to spotlight emerging issues beyond our core priorities that are increasingly impacting student success in Tennessee. This year’s symposium focused on how the changing environment — from extreme weather disruptions to the effect on current and future careers — is impacting students’ learning, physical and mental well-being, and long-term opportunities. This memo serves as a continuation of the day’s discussions and includes speaker insights, key data, and practical action to benefit students, our workforce, and the planet.
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High-Quality Public Charter Schools | Data Insights | Innovative Models
Tennessee Charter Schools Excel in Postpandemic Performance
July 30, 2025
Researchers at the University of Kentucky and the University of Southern California examined the academic performance of Tennessee charter school students before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Using longitudinal student data from 2017–18 through 2022–23, the study evaluated standardized math and English language arts (ELA) test scores across the state. Their findings demonstrate the significant positive impact that Tennessee’s public charter schools have had on students.
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Teachers & Leaders | Innovative Models | K-12 Success
The Tennessee Approach: Let’s Ask How Changes Can Benefit Students
July 28, 2025
Thanks to student-centered policies, practices, and investments, Tennessee has been a national leader in improving student outcomes over the past decade. As the Trump Administration explores shifting key responsibilities from the U.S. Department of Education to the states, Tennessee has an opportunity to reinforce its leadership by anchoring decisions in three guiding principles. As part of SCORE’s Informing the Conversation series, this memo examines how stakeholders can respond to federal shifts with a sense of possibility and urgency by asking how changes might benefit students.
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Education Finance | Innovative Models
ESSER Funding to Support Learning Recovery in Tennessee
June 9, 2025
In 2020 and 2021, Tennessee received nearly $4 billion in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds — money that Congress directed to the states to stave off negative learning impacts as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the single largest infusion of federal funds into the state’s K-12 system. Tennessee met the moment and developed a systematic approach to allocating funds that, in turn, led to nationally leading learning recovery and acceleration. These actions are a model for future efforts to disperse federal funding to the state in a way that can lead to accountability and student success.
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Innovative Models | K-12 Success
Tennessee Opportunity for AI in Education
June 6, 2025
As Tennessee begins discussions around what types of policies and supports are needed for artificial intelligence (AI) in education, it’s critical to better understand the trends among early-adopting educators as they pilot AI tools and evaluate the impact on student learning. This memo provides a set of recommendations to the state’s AI Advisory Council and is designed to help policy and education leaders reinforce Tennessee as an incubator of innovation that prepares students for careers of the future.
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Postsecondary Success | Innovative Models | Education-to-Career Pathways
Building Pathways to Success: Work-Based Learning in Tennessee High Schools
May 14, 2025
Tennessee has made significant investments in preparing all students for postsecondary education and a career. Research suggests that work-based learning (WBL) is one opportunity that can provide students with the confidence, skills, and social capital to succeed in college and the workplace. However, for these positive impacts to be realized, work-based learning must be high quality, providing students with valuable learning that sets them up for later career success. To gain a better understanding of the current state of work-based learning in Tennessee, the SCORE team analyzed data from several sources and produced this series of memos.
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Postsecondary Success | Innovative Models | Education-to-Career Pathways
Barriers to Implementing Work-Based Learning
May 12, 2025
High-quality work-based learning is an important component of Tennessee’s efforts to prepare all high school students for postsecondary education and a quality career. This second memo in our Building Pathways to Success series uses data collected from interviews with district leaders to help us better understand barriers to implementing work-based learning (WBL) programs throughout Tennessee. State policymakers and leaders can use this information to provide the right solutions and supports.
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Postsecondary Success | Innovative Models | Education-to-Career Pathways
Work-Based Learning Participation and Success
May 12, 2025
This first memo in our Building Pathways to Success series explores the current status of work-based learning (WBL) in Tennessee. This foundational knowledge shows us the strength of defining what constitutes a WBL experience but also highlights where Tennessee is falling short in assessing the impact of these experiences on future learning and future career pursuits.
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Teachers & Leaders | Innovative Models | K-12 Success
Lead in Literacy Case Study: Aligning Teacher Candidate Preparation and Mentor Support Experiences
May 12, 2025
To support strong early literacy educator preparation in our state, Tennessee Technological University (TN Tech) and the Putnam County School System (PCSS) have partnered through the Lead in Literacy network to strengthen TN Tech’s educator preparation program (EPP). This EPP-district partnership is constructing a shared vision for literacy instruction and revising undergraduate literacy coursework methods to bolster skills around the science of reading and high-quality instructional materials (HQIM). This case study outlines their work to date.
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Teachers & Leaders | Innovative Models | K-12 Success
Piloting Instructionally Coherent Literacy Intervention in Knox County Schools
May 7, 2025
Four elementary schools in Knox County tested a literacy intervention approach that brings better instructional coherence to students by using the same high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) that are used in the student’s main classroom, rather than introducing new materials that may follow a different scope and sequence of learning. In a previous report from SCORE, this approach showed promising results when compared with students receiving support in settings that used different materials.
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High-Quality Public Charter Schools | Data Insights | Postsecondary Success | Innovative Models | K-12 Success
Tennessee Public Charter Schools Are Preparing Students For Postsecondary Education
April 3, 2025
In Tennessee, many public charter schools build a strong postsecondary culture to support students to strive for success in college, career, and life.
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High-Quality Public Charter Schools | Data Insights | Innovative Models
Tennessee Public Charter School Students See Strong Growth
April 2, 2025
You may have heard claims suggesting that charter schools target enrollment efforts at high-achieving students, a practice commonly referred to as “cherry picking” or “skimming.” When it comes to Tennessee public charter schools, it’s important to understand the opposite is true.
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