The Tennessee Department of Education presented its first formal report on the Tennessee Early Literacy Assessment (TELA), reporting a first-time pass rate of roughly 40% and highlighting participation patterns across educator preparation providers.

Christy Wall, assistant commissioner for academics, told the board that the TELA is intended to ensure educators are trained in foundational literacy skills under the Tennessee Literacy Success Act. She said the assessment’s passing score was set at 80 percent and the assessment is free to test-takers and educator-preparation providers. Wall reported a teacher-candidate first-time pass rate of 39.2 percent and an overall first-time pass rate of 40.2 percent in the first year of implementation; candidates who retook the assessment saw a higher pass rate (reported as 60.8 percent).

Board members pressed staff about the implications of a relatively low first-time pass rate. The chair asked, "40.2 percent first time and after they take it multiple times, only 60 percent pass rate — seems very low to me and would seem like it has some implications for our teachers and ultimate classrooms." Wall and other department staff said the department had expected an implementation curve in year one and emphasized the value of the training pathway (asynchronous modules) alongside the stand-alone assessment. Wall said the training is closely aligned to high-quality instructional materials and the science-of-reading approach; staff plan to engage educator preparation providers in regional convenings and implementation support.

The report also noted that 28 educator preparation providers are represented in the data but only 10 providers had 10 or more users (the department suppresses provider-level data under that threshold for privacy). Staff said they will continue to monitor participation and outcomes and consider aligning training into preparation programs where appropriate.

Next steps: Department staff said they will continue outreach and supports for educator-preparation providers, convene regional implementation opportunities, and monitor pass rates over time. The board asked staff to explore embedding elements of the training into EPP coursework and to report back as data accumulate.