Tennessee Schools

TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
ANDREW JOHNSON TOWER 6TH FL
NASHVILLE, TN 37243
(615) 741-2731

After the 2006 round of standardized testing, Tennessee took 76 schools off of its watch list for making their Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) requirements two years in a row. Schools that do not meet their AYP two years in a row can face sanctions from having to provide students the choice to transfer to a better-performing school to a total restructuring of the school and its administration. This year, 229 schools in Tennessee will receive federal funding to help them help their students meet requirements it the 2007 testing. These schools will split $210 in federal funding to help raise test scores.

Tennessee ranked 41 out of 50 for the 2005-06 in the "Smartest State" rankings, based off of Morgan Quinto's annual reference guide "Education State Rankings 2005-06." A state's education system is rated on 21 positive and negative factors-removing spending per student from the consideration and focusing more on student performance and personal attention from teachers.

Tennessee had the highest SAT scores in the Southern region of the US in the 2006 testing, averaging a score of 714 out of 800 in each category. Eleven percent more students in 2006 also took Advanced Placement (AP) tests, and high scores increased 10%. AP classes and high scores on AP tests result in college credit for the particular subject.

For information on schools that did not meet their AYP requirements, or schools that were removed from the watch list, visit Tennessee's Department of Education website at http://www.tennessee.gov/education.