(From Commissioner of Education Kevin Huffman) Directors, As I am sure you are aware, the General Assembly passed a bill with significant revisions to our plans for common core assessments. In particular: - We will give TCAP and EOCs for reading, writing and math in grades 3-11 in 2014-15. We will not give PARCC. - We will have an RFP process to select assessments for 2015-16 and beyond. This process will be a clean and transparent process, with an open competition to provide assessments beginning that school year. We will progress with our work implementing the common core state standards in language arts and math. You will hear from Emily Barton early next week with more information about summer training. Broadly, our plans are to continue with the training offerings, as they are designed to support student success. The legislative changes do have a ripple effect and impact a number of additional plans, though. As I have shared with some of your colleagues, it will take some time to make all the necessary decisions and communicate them to the field. We will communicate on a regular basis through the CORE offices to keep everyone informed, but we know that a change in assessments - particularly at such a late date - has many implications and we will need to take some time to make all of the appropriate decisions. I am disappointed, as is the leadership team at TDOE, in this outcome. I think our students are as ready as students anywhere in the country for the assessment transition, and I am concerned that children in other states will have access to more advanced assessments before Tennessee children. At the same time, I have no doubt that with your leadership, Tennessee can continue to be the fastest improving state in the country. Our goal for students has not changed. Our schools and children need your leadership now more than ever, and I look forward to talking in the coming weeks and months about how to ensure that the 2014-15 school year is a great one. If you have questions about next steps, please feel free to reach out to CORE directors, or to Dr. Airhart or me. Sincerely, Kevin Huffman
Posted on: Fri, 18 Apr 2014 15:05:58 +0000