Department of Education seeks parental input in long awaited school grading system

State EducationState Government
Written By Sky Arnold

Parents can now take part in creating a long awaited system that grades how well their child’s school is serving students.The Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) invited Tennesseans to participate in in a series of public meetings across the state to create the A through F school grading system.The goal is to create resource for families with transparent and easy-to-understand information about the schools in their community.“Whether you are a student, parent, teacher, policymaker, or an interested community member, school letter grades will empower all Tennesseans with the information they need to support K-12 public education and our local schools,” said Department of Education Commissioner of Lizzette Reynolds. “I encourage all Tennesseans to join us at a town hall or submit a public comment to share what you want to know about schools in your community and how they are serving your kids.”A 2016 state law created the A through F grading system but the state has repeatedly delayed the roll-out for a number of reasons including the COVID-19 pandemic.The department aims to change that this school year.In addition to the public meetings, the department is also utilizing social media and written public comments to provide the public with an opportunity to weigh in on the new system. The department plans to publish A-F letter grades for each school on the State Report Card in November."Parents of our K-12 students should have a clear understanding where schools fall on a grading scale in comparison to other schools just as we do for our K-12 students. This will provide that understanding,” said Senate Education Committee Chair Jon Lundberg, R-Bristol."A-F letter grades provide a straightforward mechanism for differentiating the performance of Tennessee's public schools, serving as a valuable tool for all stakeholders. This is especially important for parents, helping them make the important choice of where to send their children to school," said House Education Administration Chairman Mark White, R-Memphis.The meetings will be held in ten different town halls in every region across the state. Information on when and where the meetings will take place can be found on the department’s Facebook page.The School Letter Grades Public Town Hall schedule is below:

  • Tuesday, August 15: Mid-Cumberland Region
  • Thursday, August 17: First Region
  • Tuesday, August 22: Southwest Region
  • Wednesday, August 23: Southwest Region
  • Thursday, August 24: Northwest Region
  • Tuesday, August 29: Southeast Region
  • Thursday, August 31: East Region
  • Tuesday, September 5: Upper Cumberland Region
  • Wednesday, September 6: Mid-Cumberland
  • Thursday, September 7: South Central

Public comment submissions will additionally be accepted until September 15. 

Sky Arnold

Sky serves as the Managing Editor of the Tennessee Fireflly. He’s a veteran television journalist with two decades of experience covering news in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, and Tennessee where he covered government for Fox 17 News in Nashville and WBBJ in Jackson. He’s a graduate of the University of Oklahoma and a big supporter of the Oklahoma Sooners.

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