ACADEMIC STANDARDS IN TENNESSEE
NOVEMBER 2013
INTRODUCTION
Tennessee’s success rests on the state’s ability
to compete in a global economy. It is critical that
students receive an education that prepares them
for the demands of the workforce both today and
in the future. However, data from both national and
international assessments show that Tennessee
students are woefully behind their peers in academic
performance. On the ACT, only 18 percent of
Tennessee students graduating in 2013 met all four
College Readiness benchmarks (an indication of
success in college level coursework). Tennessee
ranks 13th out of 17 states in which more than 75
percent of high school students take the ACT.i On
international assessments, Tennessee ranks 67th in
reading and 80th in math (out of 116 countries and
U.S. states).ii
Policymakers and educators in Tennessee are
committed to improving the state’s public education
system to ensure that students gain the knowledge and
skills they need to be competitive with their peers from
other states and countries. This includes bold steps to
align academic expectations in public K-12 education
with the expectations set by higher education and the
workforce. Tennessee is on the path to implementing
higher academic standards, and the current Common
Core State Standards are intended to ensure that
instruction in classrooms across the state is providing
students with the real world skills and knowledge they
need to be successful after high school. The state
received promising news with the 2013 results of the
National Assessment of Educational Progress, which
showed that Tennessee is the fastest-improving state
for academic achievement. However, the assessment
also showed that performance remains below the
national average. Tennessee’s commitment to high
standards is helping to put students on a pathway
to success – a pathway that demands rigor, critical
thinking, and strong aptitudes in reading, math, writing,
and the sciences.
The following memo provides an overview of the
recent standards movement in public K-12 education
and Tennessee’s work to better align the state’s
expectations for students with real-world expectations
for success after high school in college or career.
Tennessee is a leader in the work to raise academic
standards, and it is important to understand how
community members, policymakers, educators,
parents, and students can continue this work.
1207 18th Avenue South, Suite 326, Nashville, TN 37212 — tel 615.727.1545 — fax 615.727.1569 — www.tnscore.org