MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WMOT) -- Education will be a major focus of the next session of the Tennessee General Assembly, set to begin in mid-January, and Governor Haslam is trying to get out in front of that discussion.
The Tennessean reports that in a meeting with teachers earlier this month, Haslam proposed several changes to the way teachers relate to the standards.
Among those changes, Haslam wants to temporarily reduce the portion of a teacher’s evaluation tied to student test scores and he wants to more closely align assessment tests with the standards being taught.
Barbara Gray, President of the state’s largest teacher’s union, the Tennessee Education Association, says she’s pleased to see Haslam proposing changes. She says the current student assessment, the Tennessee Value Added Assessment System (TVAAS), is deeply flawed.
“The more TEA digs into the methodology behind TVAAS, the more its flaws and its inaccuracies come to light, and it’s unfair to tie a teacher’s evaluation to an estimate that doesn’t’ measure what really matters.”
This past fall Tennessee signed a contract to spend $100 million dollars to design and implement a new set of student assessment tests.