Moving Forward With Standards In Tennessee

  • Thursday, October 23, 2014
  • J.C. Bowman, Professional Educators of Tennessee

Governor Haslam has outlined his process for how the state will review the Common Core State Standards. It remains to be seen if the state legislature, who apparently had minimal involvement in the development of this plan, will move forward with future legislation to alleviate constituent concern or stay the course that Haslam has charted for them. The public input feature is long overdue, and should be welcomed by all stakeholders and policymakers.

The major criticism leveled at the plan thus far has been the timeline, as well as the selection of the Southern Regional Education Board as a third party to review the findings. The timeline, as established, would in all probability indicate that the Tennessee General Assembly would not have the time to review and analyze the data during this legislative session. However, this should be an ongoing part of a continual improvement process.  Kentucky governor Steve Beshear is the current board chair of the SREB, and this process is designed to be similar to the one being used in Kentucky. Critics point to the millions of dollars received by the SREB from the Gates Foundation as a concern. Supporters point to our long association with them. The Gates Foundation has spent in excess of $14 million in Tennessee to promote Common Core Standards.   

However, whatever the motivations behind the logic for the plan’s design or subsequent political ramifications, Governor Bill Haslam deserves credit for putting forward a plan to address an issue of concern to educators and parents. It could have been more effective if the Governor and his team solicited advanced input from stakeholders and policymakers prior to releasing a plan with so many implications for classroom teachers and school districts. But it is a starting point for future discussion. 

Jon Alfuth, from Bluff City Education, points out this fact about the advisory committee: “By my count, 33 percent are current classroom teachers (k-12), 35 percent are coaches or specialists (elementary or secondary) and 15 percent are higher education faculty from universities.” What constitutes the remaining percentage is unknown, but it should be desired that a majority would be actual classroom educators with at least 3-years’ experience in a Tennessee classroom. Alfuth also wisely pointed out the need for additional diversity, as only 31 school districts were represented in the appointment of the 48 members to the Governor’s advisory team. This is one area that could have been improved upon in the initial plan if stakeholders and policymakers were consulted beforehand. 

It would also be helpful to describe what criteria was used in the selection process, and who made those decisions. We have previously suggested creating a standing standards commission which would consist of Tennessee educators with knowledge and experience in our public schools, appointed by the General Assembly to move us forward. We need to constantly raise our standards. Reviewing standards every six years seems an archaic and problematic practice, so we should proactively address this with continuous monitoring and adjustment as needed. 

Moving the state forward in this review process will be about more than simply who is accountable for what.  It is important that information flows freely not just within an appointed committee or 3rd Party reviewer, but also outward to interested stakeholders. School districts, for example, cannot innovate, respond to changing stakeholder needs, or function efficiently unless people have access to relevant, timely, and valid information. The same is true in this review process.  It is important that we create an ongoing system that leads to a culture of trust from this point forward to avoid future problems as created by the initial implementation of common core state standards. Policymakers are far less likely to make mistakes when they proceed on the best and most current information.   

The State Board of Education is the governing and policy making body for public elementary and secondary education in Tennessee. The SBOE also coordinates with the State Department of Education, which is tasked with implementing laws and policies enacted by the General Assembly and the Board. It is important to note that the law establishing the State Board of Education is scheduled to sunset on June 30, 2015. This means that legislation must occur this session in the Tennessee General Assembly to determine the future make-up of the State Board, including the appointment and/or election process. During the input process for standards may be an opportune time to inquire stakeholder opinion on that important subject.  

In Tennessee, our economic well-being is intricately linked to the education and skills of our citizens. The relationship between educational excellence and economic growth is more crucial today than ever. In our current economy, it is important to remember that competition comes not just from our bordering states, but also from across the globe. It is important we build a culture of transparency, as well as trust as we move forward. Blue-ribbon panels and summit meetings have their place, but the real input is listening to the opinions of all stakeholders. 

J.C. Bowman

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