Workforce Pell: A New Opportunity for Tennesseans to Build Skills Through Short-Term Credentials
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Innovative Models | Education-to-Career Pathways
From Vision to Action: Building Stronger Pathways to Economic Independence
June 29, 2026
Preparing more Tennessee students for economic independence requires stronger connections between education and workforce needs. The 2026 Future Forward Summit brought together leaders from K-12 education, postsecondary education, workforce development, industry, philanthropy, and state government to explore how Tennessee can build stronger, more connected pathways for every student. This memo highlights five key takeaways from the summit and explores practical solutions for education, workforce, business, and policy leaders working together to strengthen Tennessee's education-to-career ecosystem.
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Data Insights
2025-26 TCAP Results: Explore Tennessee Student Assessment Data
June 29, 2026
The annual release of the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) results can help educators, policymakers, and communities better understand where students are making progress and where additional support and focus are needed most. Our interactive data explorer helps you analyze student achievement trends across Tennessee using publicly available assessment data released by the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE).
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Postsecondary Success | Innovative Models
Coaching and Completion Grants: Five Years of Evidence and Impact
April 9, 2026
New evidence shows that access to postsecondary education alone is not enough — targeted coaching and just-in-time financial support help more students persist and complete postsecondary credentials. Over the past five years, Tennessee has paired tuition-free access through Tennessee Promise with proactive completion coaching and completion grants for students with the greatest financial need. This report brings together evidence from the tnAchieves COMPLETE program and Knox Promise pilot, showing that this combined approach strengthens persistence and improves outcomes for students across the state.
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Education Finance | Postsecondary Success | Education-to-Career Pathways
Outcomes-Based Funding: Reimagining the High-Need Premium to Align Education and Workforce Opportunity
March 5, 2026
Tennessee’s outcomes-based funding formula rewards colleges and universities based on student outcomes. The high-need premium, a newer component of the formula, is designed to incentivize institutions to prepare graduates for careers that meet the state’s economic needs. However, the premium’s current definition relies on broad program categories and does not consistently reward credentials that lead to high-wage, in-demand careers. This memo outlines our recommendation to replace the existing high-need premium with a tiered impact credential bonus grounded in actual labor-market outcomes.
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High-Quality Public Charter Schools
Resources: Public Charter Schools
February 7, 2026
High-quality nonprofit public charter schools are one strategy Tennessee is using to support and accelerate student learning. Expanding high-quality public charter schools is a research-supported approach for increasing student achievement, with public charters showing better outcomes for Black, Hispanic, and low-income students in Tennessee when compared to many traditional public schools.
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High-Quality Public Charter Schools | Data Insights | Innovative Models
2024-25 Tennessee Public Charter School Demographics
February 5, 2026
Public charter schools serve a larger proportion of students from historically underserved groups — including Black, Hispanic, and economically disadvantaged students — than their traditional public school peers.
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High-Quality Public Charter Schools | Innovative Models
Public Charter Schools Across Tennessee
February 5, 2026
In 2025, there are 119 charter schools in Tennessee, serving over 44,000 students — 5% of the state’s total student population.
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High-Quality Public Charter Schools | Innovative Models | K-12 Success
Nashville Charter Schools Provide Families With an Alternative to Priority Schools in Their Area
February 5, 2026
Charter schools are a free public school option, with many located near Nashville’s lowest-performing schools (priority schools). For the 2024-25 school year, Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) had 23 priority schools serving over 10,000 students. All of these priority schools are traditional district-run schools and one is a charter school.
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High-Quality Public Charter Schools | Education Finance | Innovative Models
History of Tennessee Public Charter Sector
February 5, 2026
Tennessee public charter schools are a free, public option available for students and families in Tennessee. This resource explores the timeline of state policy and funding regarding public charter schools in Tennessee.
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High-Quality Public Charter Schools | Data Insights | Innovative Models
Tennessee Charter School Quick Facts
February 5, 2026
Learn the basic facts about public charter schools in Tennessee, including where they're located and a breakdown of the students they serve.
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High-Quality Public Charter Schools | Innovative Models
Who Can Enroll In A Tennessee Public Charter School?
February 5, 2026
Tennessee Public Charter schools are a free public option available for students and families in Tennessee. Learn more about enrollment at these schools.
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K-12 Success
Tennessee Education Data & Opportunities to Advance Assessment
February 4, 2026
As part of our ongoing efforts to advance Tennessee’s foundational education policies, SCORE made a presentation on Feb. 3, 2026, to the Tennessee House Education Committee about the importance of our assessments systems. SCORE Vice President of Policy and Government Relations Aleah Guthrie and SCORE Director of Government Relations Jocelyn Pratt shared an overview of National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) and how each contributes to Tennessee’s long-term improvement strategy. They also highlighted student progress on both measures and offered recommendations to improve assessment systems and reporting timeliness. Watch the presentation below and read our Future of Assessment memo for more about the importance of assessment and strengthening it.
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