Mr. Dan Long, director of Assessment, Research and Evaluation with the Tennessee Department of Education, will visit Bradley County Schools on Tuesday to explain changes in standards and testing for the 2009-2010 school year.

Johnny McDaniel, director of Bradley County Schools, has also invited Mr. Long to speak to the Cleveland Rotary Club at their regular noon meeting on Tuesday. Following his presentation to community leaders, Mr. Long will meet with Bradley County principals and administrators.

The Tennessee Department of Education recently announced they would hold a briefing to inform the fundamental changes being made to the 2009 Report Card for schools in Tennessee. The report card will be released in early November and will reflect significant changes in the calculation of Value Added and Achievement scores. As a result of these changes to calculations, report card scores may show lower proficiency rates.

Mr. McDaniel said, “A change in test scores amidst changing standards and testing requirements along with new calculations on the state report card does not mean that Bradley County students are doing poorly.” Bradley County Schools continue to rank among the top systems in Tennessee.

In addition to changes being made to calculations for the state report card, Tennessee has made changes to curriculum standards by moving to more rigorous curriculum requirements for grades K-12. Many standards will now be taught at an earlier grade level and will require a higher level order of thinking. Standardized testing for students will require more critical thinking skills and the ability to problem-solve. A change is also being made to scoring procedures to include a higher level of mastery to determine the proficiency levels.

Bradley County Schools has adopted a systemwide theme of “Success by Design, not by Chance.” The system has prepared for these changes by providing significant staff development for teachers to learn the new standards. In addition, Bradley County Schools has implemented collaborative planning sessions and has placed instructional coaches at all schools to assist in training classroom teachers in instructional strategies and best practices.

The Three R’s for Learning are being emphasized in all sessions: Rigor, Relevance and Relationships. “The Rigor and Relevance framework has been implemented to help ensure that our students are successful in the 21st century,” said Mr. McDaniel. “Our teachers have been challenged to build a professional, caring relationship with students, to work creatively to relate lessons to real life, and finally, to provide a new level of rigor for educational excellence.”