Leaders of the State House and Senate have named seven Republicans and one Democrat to a new committee that will study the potential impact of reducing testing and teacher evaluation requirements. The Advisory Committee on Innovations in K-12 Education will additionally discuss potential changes to the academic requirements for career and technical education (CTE) students, whether schools should have a minimum number of required instructional hours, and the licensure requirements for teachers.¶
The committee will hold its first meeting on Thursday, and it will include eight lawmakers. Senate Leaders appointed Senators Adam Lowe, R-Calhoun; Dawn White, R-Murfreesboro; Raumesh Akbari, D-Memphis; and Bo Watson, R-Hickson. House leaders appointed Representatives William Slater, R-Gallatin; Kirk Haston, R-Lobelville; Scott Cepicky, R-Culleoka; and Mark Cochran, R-Englewood.¶
Governor Bill Lee additionally appointed Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds and State Board of Education Member Krissi McInturff.¶
Lawmakers approved the creation of the ten-member advisory committee last April with the charge of making recommendations for the General Assembly to consider next year.¶
Testing Varies by Grade¶
Tennessee adopted its current testing system during former Governor Bill Haslam’s administration. The new system additionally included higher standards designed to better align with college and career readiness.¶
Elementary and middle school students in grades third through eighth take the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) tests in English language arts (ELA), math, and science assessments annually. Middle school students in grades 6-8 additionally take TCAP social studies assessments. High school students take end-of-course (EOC) assessments in English I and II; Algebra I, II, and Geometry or Integrated Math I, II, and III; along with U.S. History and Biology.¶
Local school districts also administer tests beyond state requirements, and the advisory committee is expected to study reductions in there as well.¶
Advisory Committee Includes Lawmakers Who Support Reducing Accountability¶
Multiple members of the committee have a history of supporting reducing both testing and teacher evaluations.¶
Representatives Haston and Cochran both sponsored legislation earlier this year that would have weakened testing and evaluation systems. Cochran opted to scale his bill back to study those potential changes through the advisory committee.¶
Notably, House leaders chose not to include House Education Chair Mark White, R-Memphis, on the committee. White has been a strong supporter of the state’s assessment and accountability system and explained why to the Tennessee Firefly last May.¶
“I’m a little protective on the third-through-eighth grade, keeping the (high school) end-of-course, but we’ll see going forward what this advisory committee comes up with,” said White. “One reason we put the end-of-course testing in place is to make sure that our teachers were teaching the higher standards that we adopted.”¶
Studies have additionally found that the state’s testing and accountability system has played a valuable role in helping improve student performance.¶
Committee to Hear from Bradley and Perry County School Representatives¶
Thursday’s initial hearing for the Advisory Committee on Innovations in K-12 Education will involve presentations from multiple school districts, including Bradley and Perry County Schools. Perry County Schools is in Committee Member Representative Haston’s district, while Bradley County Schools is in Senator Lowe’s district.¶
Leaders of Knox County’s first public charter school, Emerald Academy, will also provide a presentation.¶
