A presenter stands in front of a board that reads "Third-Grade ELA Proficiency Rates Reached Record Highs in 2023". The board is held by an easel and is set up in front of a window. Two people are viewing and engaging with the presentation.

What We Do

Research & Data

Research plays a crucial role in shaping effective education policies and practices. By grounding decisions in data, we can identify successful strategies and areas that need improvement. This evidence-based approach helps tailor interventions to meet students’ needs, ensuring all Tennessee students have the opportunity to succeed from K-12 through their careers.

Elevating Data

SCORE works to create transparency and improve access to student data across the education-to-career continuum, ensuring policymakers and practitioners in K-12, postsecondary, and industry are using data to drive decision-making to improve outcomes for Tennessee students.

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Resources

SCORE delves into new research on current education issues to provide a deeper understanding of policies and practices connected to improving student success.

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Connecting Education & Opportunity: A Framework for Credential Impact in Tennessee

October 24, 2024

Tennessee stands at a crossroads where the future prosperity of its students and its economy depends on better supporting students through education toward workforce opportunities.  

In Connecting Education & Opportunity: A Framework for Credential Impact in Tennessee, SCORE presents a data-informed lens through which we can identify which postsecondary pursuits are also matched to high-demand, high-wage jobs. This framework is rooted in key measures of earnings, job outlook, and stackability that work together to give a clearer pathway toward student opportunity. 

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Leading in Literacy: Building Early Literacy Partner Teams

September 26, 2024

Teachers trained in Tennessee are staying in Tennessee to teach. So, what can their training institutions (educator preparation providers, or EPPs) and future districts do to foster an even deeper connection between training and the classroom? 

The question is particularly important to ensure effective instruction reflecting Tennessee’s new literacy policies. Collaboration between EPPs and school districts is critical. This paper offers both a framework for this new model and an elementary school site visit toolkit.  

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Unlocking AI: A Primer for Educators

September 24, 2024

As of fall 2023, more than half of all U.S. workers use artificial intelligence (AI) for work. The education field is no exception to this trend, as teachers across the nation are exploring ways AI can transform their work and help students learn. Despite the incredible promise of this new technology, many educators are still at the starting line — nationally, over half of teachers have never used AI. The opportunity that generative AI (GenAI) — programs that can generate text, images, and other media — brings to Tennessee’s classrooms, however, is worth the exploration. Our memo outlines two readily available tools for teachers to either dip a toe in the water or take a full-on first dive into AI to experience the possibilities and limitations of AI in its current state.  

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Strategic Investments

SCORE maximizes our impact across the state through strategic investments in innovative mission-aligned work. In partnership with tnAchieves, SCORE supported research on the impact of the Knox Promise program, which provides completion grants and coaching to Tennessee Promise scholarship students from Knox County, and research on the impact of dedicated transfer pathways coaching for Tennessee Promise students planning to transfer to a four-year university. This research helped show the positive impact of both completion grants and coaching for community college students’ long-term outcomes.

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