Five big education ideas headed TN's way

Julie Hubbard & Heidi Hall:

It's rare to hear the word "education" from Tennessee's leaders without "reform" coming after it.

Three years ago, the state began rewriting its curriculum and rethinking the way it dealt with educators. The resulting changes won Tennessee a half-billion-dollar federal grant to attempt to move students from among the lowest-achieving in the nation to the top of the pack.

The state is birthing charter schools at a brisk pace, from none seven years ago to 40 today and, some estimate, up to 20 per year moving forward.

Teachers will be judged routinely on their classroom performance and their students' test scores. Individual districts are rolling out their own reforms, such as Williamson County's invitation for students to bring their own technology and Metro Nashville's dividing of high school students into specific areas of study called academies.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at August 30, 2011 1:09 AM
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