 Dr. Connie J. Smith, Tennessee Department of Education Assistant Commissioner, Office of Accountability,Teaching & Learning, spoke with Henry County School System administrators and educators and Paris Special School District administrators on Wednesday, June 23 at the Henry County High School Learning Lab as part of the district's Race to the Top initiative.
 She explained how to effectively use the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS), a statistical analysis of achievement data that reveals academic growth over time for students and groups of students, such as those in a grade level or in a school.
 Colleen Goss, also from the Office of Accountability, System and School Improvement,  explained how TVAAS is a tool that gives feedback to school leaders and teachers on student progress and assesses the influence of schooling on that progress. It allows districts to follow student achievement over time and provides schools with a longitudinal view of student performance. TVAAS provides valuable information for teams of teachers to inform instructional decisions. TVAAS is not an additional student test, but a useful tool to help districts make data-driven decisions. (http://tennessee.gov/education/assessment/test_results.shtml)
 HCSS Assistant Director John Hinson; Cliff Sturdivant, UTM's NW Field Service Center Director; PSSD Director Mike Brown; HCSS Director Sam Miles; Inman Principal Clay Lindsey; and PES Principal, Leah Watkins listen as Dr. Smith assures educators that our new state standards are aligned with NAEP. There were also 21 educators representing HCSS schools and administrators from each school at the presentation.
Miles and Brown have coordinated with central office staff from both systems to meet monthly to discuss Race to the Top strategies for improving student achievement. Both systems are invested in helping all of our students become high school, and ultimately, college- and career-ready.
(Governor Phil Bredesen announced in March that Tennessee is one of just two states selected to receive millions of dollars for education in the federal government's Race to the Top competition. The U.S. Department of Education announced Tennessee and Delaware as the competition's first round winners and Tennessee will receive approximately $500 million. (tennesseeanytime.org) Henry County School System will receive $701,248 to implement its comprehensive school reform plans over the next four years.)
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