TN Education Report: Today, leaders across Tennessee lauded the NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) results. And they should. Tennessee is first in an education statistic and it’s a good one. The fastest growing state in the last 2 years in terms of growth in math and reading scores as measured by NAEP.
That’s good news. It’s very good news. Despite some claims, though, it’s very difficult to say results on the 2013 NAEP are a direct result of reforms that took place in 2011 and 2012. States with more rigid teacher tenure and with collective bargaining for teachers scored higher overall than Tennessee (nevermind Ron Ramsey’s rant against both — they just don’t test out as significant indicators of student achievement in either a positive or negative way). And of course, it’s easier to grow when you have a long way to go — Tennessee has historically been among the lowest performing states on the NAEP.