State education commissioner touts education law changes

Tennessee Education Commissioner Candice McQueen touted the state’s new education accountability laws in her look back at the last year in education.

Tennessee was required under the sweeping federal Every Student Succeeds Act that replaced No Child Left Behind to draft a statewide accountability plan for students.

The Tennessee Department of Education has recieved mostly positive remarks from national peers on its work

“Our year has been focused on opening doors for all students and creating opportunities for every child to grow,” McQueen said in a blog post that was also intended to look toward the 2017-18 school year. “Every day, our work strives to embody what we think access and opportunity look like as we move forward.”

Under the new law, McQueen said the state has set high expectations for all students, ensured more pathways to postsecondary readiness, provided more supports for individual students and garnered educator and community support.

“I have never been more proud to be a part of Tennessee’s work in education,” she said in the Tuesday blog post.

The state education plan puts new emphasis on outcomes for every student’s progress, as well as looks toward post-secondary opportunity for students. It also puts into place new measures in identifying struggling schools and how to provide continuous improvement for all students.

McQueen has touted the plan as a new benchmark in equality in student success and opportunity.

With the plan slated to take effect in the 2017-18 school year, McQueen said in the blog the goals into the future are to ensure all kids are succeeding, align expectations for students across the state and ensure every student can succeed outside of K-12 education.

“I’m excited at what I already see underway across our 146 school districts in Tennessee, and I’m looking forward to seeing what we accomplish together in our year ahead,” she said.

In the blog, McQueen only made a brief mention of TNready standardized testing. The education commissioner has seen issues surrounding the assessment for two consecutive years.

The first was in the 2015-16 school year when testing was canceled statewide, except for high schools. And in the 201617, many districts and the

“Our year has been focused on opening doors for all students and creating opportunities for every child to grow.” — TENNESSEE EDUCATION COMMISSIONER CANDICE MCQUEEN

state were at odds on the release of test scores for end-of-year report cards.

A FOCUS ON TEACHER LEADERS

McQueen also called on leaders statewide to play a larger role in student achievement during a Wednesday educator summit.

Teacher leaders engage in education policy discussions, help coach other educators or provide feedback to administrators.

McQueen called on educators to share their techniques and lesson plans with peers, to advocate for the teaching profession, create and lead professional learning opportunities at the local, district or state level and to be mindful of their own growth as educators.

Research on professional learning is also a priority for the department of education, McQueen said.

The goal is to learn what kind of professional development is best at improving student achievement, she said.