TN.gov Newsroom

Nashville , TN- Tennessee is the first state in the nation to be chosen for a competitive pilot that encourages schools to provide intense support to students performing below state standards, education officials learned today. The system, called a growth model, will recognize schools that are helping students make extraordinary progress toward meeting Tennessee ’s academic achievement standards. Twenty states applied to participate in the pilot.

“Common sense tells us the children who are the furthest behind in school need additional help to catch up,” Gov. Phil Bredesen said. “This approval demonstrates it is more important to ensure these children get on track in their learning than it is to stigmatize them for starting behind.”

Under Governor Phil Bredesen’s leadership, Tennessee is the first state in the nation to be approved to use a growth model to evaluate school performance under No Child Left Behind. The growth model plots a trajectory of how a student is projected to score three years into the future based on the student’s demonstrated performance on state tests since third grade. Students who score below proficient in a given year but have made accelerated progress toward being proficient will be deemed proficient. Conversely, students who score proficient but have made severe declines will not be counted as proficient.

“We are pleased that Tennessee ’s abundance of student performance data will focus on individual student progress,” Education Commissioner Lana Seivers said. “Educators will better be able to respond to instructional needs early and appropriately to ensure that each student is on the path to proficiency and graduation.”

Beginning with the 2005-06 testing cycle, students in grades four through eight may meet adequate yearly progress using the growth model or the current method. Schools and districts may only achieve adequate yearly progress with the growth model if all student subgroups meet the annual objective in both reading/language arts and mathematics. The growth model does not apply to schools or students above eighth grade.

The growth model is a different approach to measuring achievement than has been used with the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS). While TVAAS measures the effectiveness of a teacher, school or district in instigating one-year’s growth for the given student group, the approved growth model predicts each individual student’s future achievement as it relates to Tennessee ’s academic curriculum standards. The growth model was developed by Dr. Bill Sanders, formerly of the University of Tennessee .

For more information on Tennessee ’s newly approved growth model, contact Katharine Mosher (615) 532-3318 or Katharine.Mosher@state.tn.us .