New Tennessee website invites feedback on education standards
Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam unveiled a new website Thursday that invites educators and parents to weigh in on the state’s K-12 education standards for math and English language arts.
The new website was developed in partnership with the Tennessee State Board of Education, according to a state press release.
Academic standards are typically reviewed in Tennessee every six years. The state is currently in its fourth year in practicing its current standards, which were adopted in 2010, the new website said.
“One thing we’ve all agreed on is the importance of high standards in Tennessee,” Haslam said. “This discussion is about making sure we have the best possible standards as we continue to push ahead on the historic progress we’re making in academic achievement.”
Current academic standards in Tennessee provide grade-specific goals that define what students are expected to know and be able to do by the end of a given grade or course. But there are more than 1,100 goals set for English language arts and more than 900 for mathematics in Tennessee, the Clarksville [Tenn.] Online reports.
The new website gives the public greater opportunity to provide feedback on those standards.
“There has been considerable concern about Common Core State Standards, currently in place statewide,” Tennessee state Rep. Joe Pitts, a Democrat, told the Clarksville Online “The standards do offer some advantages for students and our public education system, but the quick rollout did not, among other issues, allow time for educators, students and parents to understand how they work.”
