Tennessee: College and Career Policies

The State Board of Education has full authority to adopt standards as per Tennessee Education Code 49.

Professional development is required for teacher license renewal in Tennessee.

The State Board of Education is charged under Tennessee statute with setting and approving academic standards. State Board policy 3.209 requires that the Board review all sets of academic standards at a minimum of every 6 years.

World language academic standards include both classic and modern languages. Classic languages usually include Latin and Greek while modern languages include those languages currently being spoken around the world.

The State Board of Education has authority over the adoption of Career and Technical Education Standards.

Tennessee's Health Education Standards can be used to support the effective implementation of comprehensive health education as one of the components of Coordinated School Health.

This includes:
-1.5 credits of of physical education and wellness;
-0.5 credits of personal finance;
-2 credits of foreign language (May be waived for students not going to a University to expand and enhance the elective focus);
-1 credit of fine arts (May be waived for students not going to a University to expand and enhance the elective focus); and,
-3 credits consisting of Math and Science, Career and Technical Education, Fine Arts, Humanities, Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB)

Administrators are required to acquire 60 professional development points.

Tennessee fine arts academic standards include separate sets of standards for each of the four arts: dance, music, theater, and visual art. Each set of standards is based on the national standards for that art area. Each has grade level standards for K-5, subject area course standards for grades 6-8, and course-level standards for grades 9-12. Working from the national standards, teams of educators in each area developed the state standards including Grade or Course Level Expectations (GLEs or CLEs) and Checks for Understanding.

The Tennessee State Board of Education has full authority per state law.

In July 2011, Tennessee implemented a student outcomes-based, statewide educator evaluation system: the Tennessee Educator Acceleration Model (TEAM). This implementation was a key tenet of Tennessee’s First to the Top Act, adopted by the General Assembly with bipartisan support during 2010’s extraordinary session under the backdrop of the federal Race to the Top competition. This landmark legislation established the parameters of a new teacher and principal evaluation system and committed to implementation during the 2011-12 school year

Required by law as part of its Race to the Top application, Tennessee was one of the first states in the nation to implement a comprehensive, outcomes-based evaluation system. The Tennessee Educator Acceleration Model (TEAM) requires that 40-50% of annual educator evaluations are based on student performance measures. The Tennessee Teaching Evaluation Enhancement Act (Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-1-302) adjusts the current weighting of student growth data in an educator’s evaluation to lessen the evaluation score impact of new assessments in English language arts and math (called TNReady), as well as social studies and science.

The Tennessee State Board of Education has complete jurisdiction over educator licensure.

In order to be certified as a teacher, applicants must hold a bachelor's degree, pass required examinations, and complete an approved teacher preparation program.