Lawmakers, SCORE presenters highlight widening achievement gaps, push for teacher pipeline and accountability

Presenters and legislators at a legislative education committee meeting focused on widening student achievement gaps, teacher recruitment and retention, and accountability for voucher schools, citing a proficiency gap “over 20 points” and noting that statewide third-grade proficiency remains low for many students.

Miss Guthrie, a SCORE presenter, told the committee “those achievement gaps between students are widening, with a current gap of over 20 points,” and said overall proficiency rates for economically disadvantaged students remain “below 20%.” Representative Reginald Hakeem described recent gains as modest, saying the increase in proficiency amounts to “1 in 3 or 1 in 4.”

The discussion centered on three linked issues: what schools and state policy can do for students not yet proficient; how to recruit and keep teachers in classrooms; and whether public accountability should apply to privately funded voucher schools.

Miss Guthrie emphasized the role of classroom teachers as the single most important in-school factor affecting learning, saying “the number 1 in-school factor that impacts the students' learning is the teacher in the classroom.” She described a pending scholarship proposal intended to expand the teacher pipeline, calling it “a scholarship for teachers, for future teachers” aimed at paying for preparation for career changers, undergraduates and teachers working on permits. Guthrie said she expects committee discussion of that legislation in the coming weeks and noted other bills under development, including items from the governor’s office on teacher licensure and charter schools.

Several legislators pressed for practical steps. Representative Glenn asked whether the committee sometimes places too many expectations on teachers and whether more classroom autonomy might help. Miss Guthrie said accountability for outcomes can coexist with local flexibility in teaching inputs, and she urged use of multiple assessment measures to guide instruction rather than relying on a single test.

Representative Johnson raised accountability for private voucher schools, saying that because voucher programs use public tax dollars, they should have comparable transparency and testing: “If this accountability was successful, because it's public tax dollars, we should be using that accountability in voucher schools as well,” he said, and expressed concern that separate tests and standards make comparison with public schools impossible.

Lawmakers and presenters cited several quantitative points during the hearing: third-grade proficiency based on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) has risen toward about 40% in recent years in some comments, presenters noted a persistent remediation rate of roughly 67% reported by postsecondary institutions for entering students, and Miss Guthrie and others referenced NAEP results and future NAEP testing in 2025. The panel also discussed the ACT and the ASVAB, with one member noting state ACT performance places Tennessee near 40th nationally and citing ASVAB passing-score statistics reported to the committee.

Committee members repeatedly framed the problem as both a policy and operational challenge: maintain and scale foundational policies such as literacy interventions, high-quality instructional materials and tutoring, while also innovating on teacher working conditions, staffing models and uses of technology (including generative AI) to reduce non-instructional burdens on teachers. Miss Guthrie said the committee must distinguish between “foundations that we need to commit to” and “other ideas where we need to innovate and improve.”

No formal legislation was voted on at the hearing. Members directed staff and sponsors to continue work on a teacher scholarship bill and signaled interest in forthcoming bills from the governor’s office on licensure and charter schools. The meeting closed with the chair returning the panel to session and then adjourning.

The presenters named during the session included SCORE representatives and guests from Fisk University; the committee also acknowledged visiting students and community groups, including the Montgomery County NAACP student council. Committee members said they expect continued follow-up in future hearings and plan to review related bills and data as legislation moves through the session.