Quality Counts Gives State Mixed Grades

As the state legislature considers Governor Bredesen’s proposal to revamp the way the state evaluates teachers, a new, national study gives solid marks for Tennessee’s current methods of assessing teacher quality.  But Education Week Magazine’s annual Quality Counts report says the state lags behind the national average when it comes to offering teacher incentives.

The study gives Tennessee a B for how teachers are licensed and evaluated and for the kind of ongoing training and mentoring that’s available. But when it comes to how teachers are compensated and encouraged to fill difficult positions, researcher Christopher Swanson says the state earned a D.

“While I think Tennessee, like a lot of states, kind of has the basics, there are some of these areas, especially when you get into the questions of incentives for teacher performance and how you better connect high qualified teachers with students in need, I think that’s where Tennessee, along with many states, are really still trying to find their way.”

The study gives Tennessee an F for spending on schools. The report says forty-six states devote a larger portion of their budgets to education. And even after accounting for regional differences in cost, the amount Tennessee spends per student is about 25-percent lower than the national average.

However, Swanson says the state earned a B+ for fairness.

“In terms of equity, in terms of how they’re distributed district to district within the state, Tennessee looks pretty well like the average state, for the most part.”

There’s always a lag in the financial data, meaning that this year’s study looks at figures from 2007. That means it’s the first time Quality Counts has evaluated the state since the current funding formula, called “BEP 2.0” went into effect. The formula was reworked after small school districts sued the state, claiming they weren’t getting their fair share of state education dollars.

The study also looked at standards for students, test scores, and students’ chance for success after graduation. Overall, Tennessee earned a C+ and is ranked 18th in the nation.