Where the Candidates Stand on Testing and School Letter Grades
Do annual testing and the A-F school grades stay as they are, get reweighted, or get rolled back?
What the policy is
Tennessee tests students annually through TCAP and converts the results, along with academic growth and, for high schools, college and career readiness, into a single A-F letter grade for every eligible public school.
The grade is the public face of the accountability system. It drives which schools are named Reward schools, which are flagged for support, and which draw state intervention. It also drives what parents see when they look up a school.
The governor appoints the education commissioner who administers the assessment and the grading protocol, and the administration’s position shapes whether the General Assembly reweights, pauses, or expands any of it.
What it costs
- What the grade is built from
- Four indicators
The department describes the calculation as four separate indicators: student achievement, student academic growth, growth of the highest-need students, and a college and career readiness measure for high schools only. Each indicator scores 1 to 5 and is weighted by grade band to produce the letter. The rating system is required by T.C.A. section 49-1-228.
- Most recent release
- 2024-25 grades, December 2025
The department released the 2024-25 State Report Card, including the 2024-25 School Letter Grades, on December 18, 2025.
No dollar figure is given for administering TCAP. Tennessee’s assessment contract cost was not retrievable from an authoritative published source while this page was written, so the row is omitted rather than estimated.
What Tennesseans told the survey
What Tennesseans said about testing and accountability
- 87%
- want schools held accountable
- 81%
- say annual student testing matters
- 77%
- oppose removing exams
- 70%
- support the A-F school grading system
Voters want more accountability, not less.
500 registered voters surveyed February 5-8, 2026, ±4.38% margin of error, 95% confidence. Tennessee Firefly is a product of Tennesseans for Student Success, which conducted this survey. We publish the findings in full and name them as the yardstick wherever we use them so readers can weigh the source along with the number.
Where the nominees stand
Marsha Blackburn
Has not stated a positionHer published planks touching schools cover curriculum, parental rights, student online safety and a phone-free classroom policy her campaign runs as its own section, Bell to Bell: No Cell. None addresses TCAP, the A-F school letter grades, or the accountability system that produces them. Her deep profile records the same gap from a separate review: she has not publicly addressed state-level standardized testing policy.
Source: Marsha Blackburn for Governor, Issues · read 2026-08-08
Jerri Green
Has not stated a positionHer platform addresses curriculum and school climate, pledging what she calls honest education rather than censorship and political interference, and commits to waiving GED testing fees and taking testing to all corners of the state. Those are the only testing commitments it makes. It contains no position on TCAP, the A-F school letter grades, or the accountability system. Her deep profile records the same gap from a separate review: no public statements found on standardized testing policy.
Source: Jerri Green for Governor, Policy · read 2026-08-08
The 13 independents on the ballot
Independent candidates qualify by petition and never appear in a primary, so they arrive on the November ballot with no primary record behind them. Each is listed here whether or not a position exists.
Misam Abidi
Has not stated a positionMisam Abidi has not stated a position on testing and accountability.
Source: Tennessee Firefly, Misam Abidi: campaign material, filings and public statements, reviewed against the Secretary of State ballot list · read 2026-08-08
Dean Brewer
Has not stated a positionDean Brewer has not stated a position on testing and accountability.
Source: Tennessee Firefly, Dean Brewer: campaign material, filings and public statements, reviewed against the Secretary of State ballot list · read 2026-08-08
Ray Brown
Has not stated a positionRay Brown has not stated a position on testing and accountability.
Source: Tennessee Firefly, Ray Brown: campaign material, filings and public statements, reviewed against the Secretary of State ballot list · read 2026-08-08
David Hatley
Has not stated a positionHe cites the share of Tennessee fourth graders reading at grade level as the case for his reading-coach proposal. That is a use of the results, not a position on the assessment or on the A-F school grades, and his published material takes neither.
Source: Hatley campaign, David Hatley for Governor
Wendell Jackson
Has not stated a positionWendell Jackson has not stated a position on testing and accountability.
Source: Tennessee Firefly, Wendell Jackson: campaign material, filings and public statements, reviewed against the Secretary of State ballot list · read 2026-08-08
Charles Van Morgan
Has not stated a positionCharles Van Morgan has not stated a position on testing and accountability.
Source: Tennessee Firefly, Charles Van Morgan: campaign material, filings and public statements, reviewed against the Secretary of State ballot list · read 2026-08-08
Eddie Lee Murphy
Has not stated a positionEddie Lee Murphy has not stated a position on testing and accountability.
Source: Tennessee Firefly, Eddie Lee Murphy: campaign material, filings and public statements, reviewed against the Secretary of State ballot list · read 2026-08-08
Lauren Pinkston
NuancedShe told the Lebanon Democrat that her aims include limiting data and benchmark tests that get in the way of teaching. That names the interim testing load rather than TCAP or the A-F school grades, on which she has not taken a position.
“limiting data and benchmark tests that get in the way of teaching”
Source: Lebanon Democrat, An independent running for Tennessee governor wants to give people a third option
Victor L. Scoggin
Has not stated a positionHis two school planks call for an equal number of conservative and liberal educators in state-funded schools and colleges, and for returning God to public schools and government buildings. Neither addresses testing or the A-F school grades.
Source: Scoggin campaign, Capt Vic Scoggin for Tennessee Governor
Dave Seeman
Has not stated a positionHis platform is specific about staffing, class size and student services, and adds a half-credit financial literacy graduation requirement. It does not address TCAP or the A-F school grades.
Source: Seeman campaign, The Platform: Dave Seeman for Governor
Karl Knox Smithson
Has not stated a positionKarl Knox Smithson has not stated a position on testing and accountability.
Source: Tennessee Firefly, Karl Knox Smithson: campaign material, filings and public statements, reviewed against the Secretary of State ballot list · read 2026-08-08
L. Webb Taylor
Has not stated a positionL. Webb Taylor has not stated a position on testing and accountability.
Source: Tennessee Firefly, L. Webb Taylor: campaign material, filings and public statements, reviewed against the Secretary of State ballot list · read 2026-08-08
Robert C. Vick
Has not stated a positionHis announcement is built around curriculum alignment for rural students. It does not address testing or the A-F school grades.
Source: Claiborne Progress, 40-Year East Tennessee Educator Dr. Vick Announces Independent Run for Governor
15 candidates on the certified November ballot · 1 with a stated position on this issue · 14 with none on the record
Sources
- Tennessee Department of Education, School Letter Grades (read 2026-08-08)
- Tennessee Department of Education, TDOE Releases 2024-25 Online State Report Card (December 18, 2025) (read 2026-08-08)
- Marsha Blackburn for Governor, Issues (read 2026-08-08)
- Jerri Green for Governor, Policy (read 2026-08-08)
- Tennessee Firefly, Misam Abidi: campaign material, filings and public statements, reviewed against the Secretary of State ballot list (read 2026-08-08)
- Tennessee Firefly, Dean Brewer: campaign material, filings and public statements, reviewed against the Secretary of State ballot list (read 2026-08-08)
- Tennessee Firefly, Ray Brown: campaign material, filings and public statements, reviewed against the Secretary of State ballot list (read 2026-08-08)
- Hatley campaign, David Hatley for Governor
- Tennessee Firefly, Wendell Jackson: campaign material, filings and public statements, reviewed against the Secretary of State ballot list (read 2026-08-08)
- Tennessee Firefly, Charles Van Morgan: campaign material, filings and public statements, reviewed against the Secretary of State ballot list (read 2026-08-08)
- Tennessee Firefly, Eddie Lee Murphy: campaign material, filings and public statements, reviewed against the Secretary of State ballot list (read 2026-08-08)
- Lebanon Democrat, An independent running for Tennessee governor wants to give people a third option
- Scoggin campaign, Capt Vic Scoggin for Tennessee Governor
- Seeman campaign, The Platform: Dave Seeman for Governor
- Tennessee Firefly, Karl Knox Smithson: campaign material, filings and public statements, reviewed against the Secretary of State ballot list (read 2026-08-08)
- Tennessee Firefly, L. Webb Taylor: campaign material, filings and public statements, reviewed against the Secretary of State ballot list (read 2026-08-08)
- Claiborne Progress, 40-Year East Tennessee Educator Dr. Vick Announces Independent Run for Governor
- Tennesseans for Student Success, TSS Statewide Survey, February 2026
Positions are stated in each candidate’s own framing. Where a candidate has not addressed an issue, the page says so and names the material that was reviewed to reach that conclusion. We do not score or grade candidates: the survey is the yardstick, and the comparison is the reader’s to make.
The other education issues
Does the Education Freedom Scholarship grow, hold at 20,000 students, or end?
Does the next governor raise the TISA formula, change what it weights, or hold it where it is?
What happens to teacher pay after the statutory minimum reaches $50,000 in 2026-27?
Where does the next governor put the money: four-year degrees, the technical colleges, or both?
Explore the Tracker
About this tracker
This tracker is produced by The Tennessee Firefly, an independent, nonpartisan news outlet covering education and government in Tennessee. We don't endorse candidates. We don't take political ads. We follow the money, the policy, and the people who shape your kids' schools. All data comes from official filings, verified reporting, and on-the-record sources, with freshness timestamps visible on every page that surfaces live data.