Annual Joint Report on Kindergarten through Higher Education in Tennessee.

Overview & Synopsis

This annual report complies with the requirements of Tennessee's Public Education Governance Reform Act of 1984, which directs the State Board of Education and the Tennessee Higher Education Commission to prepare a report on: (1) the extent of duplication in elementary-secondary and postsecondary education in Tennessee; (2) the extent to which high school graduation requirements are compatible with the admission requirements of postsecondary institutions; (3) the extent to which the respective master plans of the State Board of Education and the Higher Education Commission are being fulfilled; and (4) the extent to which state needs in public education are being met. The Commission and the Board of Education have developed master plans to minimize duplication in a program of continuous learning from prekindergarten through higher education. High school requirements in Tennessee are compatible with the admissions requirements of the state's public postsecondary institutions. The study also found that progress is being made toward the master plans of both the State Board of Education and the Higher Education Commission in many areas, although progress has not been significant in some areas, as identified. To meet state needs in public education, Tennessee has adopted a performance funding model. Since the inception of the performance model, there have been consistent improvements in test scores for major fields and general education outcomes, and job placement rates in vocational programs have risen to over 95%. (Contains 27 tables.) (SLD)