Education report lauds Tennessee for strides made with Race to the Top grant

Of the first dozen states that won Race to the Top education reform grants, Tennessee is making some of the most impressive strides, according to a progress report from the U.S. Department of Education.

According to the report, high points in Tennessee’s second year of using the highly coveted grant program include recruiting core coaches, teachers and leaders to help transition schools to new data-driven standards, meeting an aggressive timeline to show teachers their students’ test scores, and co-management of five schools under the state’s district set to turn around schools.

“Race to the Top has sparked dramatic changes, and in only the second year of the program we’re seeing those results reach the classroom,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan about the grant’s “Year 2” report. “Most states have made tremendous strides and met aggressive timelines on work that has the potential to transform public education for years to come.”

Tennessee is among two other states called out by the department for progress under the grant program, which was designed to reward states for implementing a series of education reforms such as those that made use of student test data and focused on failing schools. The other states called out for making advancements are North Carolina and Rhode Island.

View a full copy of the report, which covered the 2011-2012 school year, here [1].

There’s room for improvement, according to the report. Education officials need to provide more training and support on issues like implementing principal evaluations and training K-2 teachers on Common Core standards.

Tennessee was among the first two states to win the award, taking home $500 million over the three-year grant period.