Tennessee's Academic Standards - A Brief History and the Challenges Ahead | Page 2

Taking Note

Superintendent Selection in Tennessee: A Brief History
January 2011

(previously only three years had been required) and a third year of lab
science (previously only two years had been required). On January
25, 2008, the State Board of Education officially approved these new
standards and graduation requirements.vii
However, this was only the beginning of the hard work, as the state
now had to help teachers learn how to successfully teach the new
standards. To that end, the Tennessee Department of Education
launched a statewide effort to train teachers on the state’s new
standards. In the summers of both 2008 and 2009, the Department
held two-day summer training institutes in five locations across the state.
To provide additional support, the Department offered online training
sessions for teachers who 6