The State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) on Wednesday released a statement from President and CEO Jamie Woodson in response to Governor Bill Haslam’s announcement of a review process for Tennessee’s K-12 academic standards in English language arts and mathematics:
"Numerous indicators – from the Nation’s Report Card to ACT – show Tennessee’s current English and math standards, which dramatically raised expectations, are working for our students. We also recognize that it is important to look ahead and continue raising the bar for children.
The process announced today is an opportunity to review, refine, and continue to raise expectations.
"We hope that the review process announced by the governor will reinforce consensus in Tennessee about the value of high academic standards. Teachers, parents, and other Tennesseans now have a thoughtful way to identify areas where our standards are working and where we can build on our standards to continue raising the bar for students.
"The role SCORE wants to play and will be playing in this process is as an advocate for research-based policy and as a vigilant watchdog for our students and teachers. SCORE’s role is to ensure that this process results in higher standards for our students, not lower standards.
"In conversations SCORE has conducted over the last few months, educators have clearly told us two things. First, they need and want more professional development and support in using the standards. Second, teachers, students, and parents urgently need the state to push forward with the selection and implementation of a new assessment fully aligned with our standards. We encourage Tennessee educators to participate in the review process to provide their crucial insight.
Read the full statement here: http://tnscore.org/score-statement-on-tennessee-standards-review-process/