Resources

Data Insights | Postsecondary Success | K-12 Success

TN2030 Presentation to the State Board of Education

September 5, 2025

In August 2025, Courtney Bell, SCORE’s vice president of research and innovation, gave a presentation to the Tennessee State Board of Education on TN2030 — a statewide vision that sets bold goals for student success, from early literacy to postsecondary readiness — and emphasized the need for a shared commitment to help all students thrive.Watch a recording of the presentation below and view the associated slide deck.

Teachers & Leaders

The Future of Tennessee Teacher Evaluation

August 21, 2025

Tennessee’s teacher evaluation system has long been recognized as a national model — both for the reforms that created our multiple-measure evaluation design and for its impact on student achievement and teacher effectiveness. Built to deliver meaningful instructional feedback, the system has driven lasting gains in math and English language arts proficiency. Still, there are opportunities to advance Tennessee’s teacher evaluation system. Because teacher quality is the single most important in-school factor for student success, Tennessee must continue refining this critical tool.This memo outlines three areas of opportunity and key recommendations — presented on August 20, 2025, to the Tennessee General Assembly’s Joint Advisory Committee on Innovations in K-12 Education — to ensure our teacher evaluation system continues to drive instructional growth and student success. 

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.

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.

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. 

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. SCORE has provided a set of recommendations to the state’s AI Advisory Council through our new memo, Tennessee Opportunity for AI in Education. This resource is designed to help policy and education leaders reinforce Tennessee as an incubator of innovation that prepares students for careers of the future.  

Education Finance

Federal Career and Technical Education Funding in Tennessee

May 28, 2025

Career and technical education (CTE) in Tennessee plays a critical role in preparing students as they pursue careers that can enable economic independence. As part of our Informing the Conversation series, this memo explores Perkins V, the federal funding stream available to states to support and strengthen CTE options for students and enhance accountability for student outcomes. Perkins V nationally distributes about $1.4 billion in state formula grants under Title I funding. As part of the 2018 reauthorization of the Perkins Act, greater emphasis was placed on evaluations and support for evidence-based strategies in CTE education. This emphasis aims to ensure that CTE options available to students are better aligned to regional labor market needs, setting students up for success as they enter the workforce.  

Postsecondary Success | Education-to-Career Pathways | K-12 Success

Leveraging Credential Stackability to Reach Workforce Opportunity

May 20, 2025

Tennessee has a growing number of postsecondary credential options available in today’s dynamic economy. As part of this trend, students are increasingly stacking credentials — earning multiple credentials over time to build skills. This practice is not just more common but also increasingly necessary to unlock career opportunity. Yet Tennessee lacks a clear definition of what it means for a student to “stack” credentials or how stackability can lead to high-wage, high-demand job opportunities. Tennessee can lead the nation in defining stackability and supporting students across their education-to-career journeys.  

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.

Setting a Vision for the Next Generation of Work-Based Learning

May 12, 2025

Tennessee’s recent policies and investments have built momentum toward strengthening education-to-career pathways for all students, which is an excellent foundation on which to build a new vision specifically for work-based learning (WBL) in our state. This third memo in our Building Pathways to Success series outlines key elements Tennessee must consider for a future of WBL that enhances student learning and leads students toward careers that enable economic independence. 

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.

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.