Historical public education information in Tennessee, 2011-2015

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Education policy in the U.S.

Public education in the U.S.

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Charter schools in the U.S.

Higher education in the U.S.

Glossary of education terms

Education statistics

This page contains archived information on Tennessee's public education system, primarily from 2011-2012, but also from other years due to the availability of data at the time it was written. For more recent information, view Tennessee's public education page.

The Tennessee public school system (prekindergarten through grade 12) operates within districts governed by locally elected school boards and superintendents. In 2012 Tennessee had 999,693 students enrolled in a total of 1,802 schools in 140 school districts. There were 66,382 teachers in the public schools, or roughly one teacher for every 15 students, compared to the national average of 1:16. There was roughly one administrator for every 293 students, compared to the national average of one administrator for every 295 students. On average Tennessee spent $8,242 per pupil in 2011, which ranked it 46th highest in the nation. The state's graduation rate was 87 percent in 2012.

State agencies

See also: Tennessee Department of Education

The "core values" of the Tennessee Department of Education are as follows:

“

The department is focused on the ambitious goal of ensuring that Tennessee is the state with the fastest improving student achievement. In doing so, we commit ourselves to the following core values. Excellence: We hold ourselves and our colleagues to high standards for our daily work and for reaching our goals. We actively seek and give feedback in an effort to advance outcomes for ourselves and the students we serve. We believe in the importance of continuous improvement, and we constantly strive for a higher level of performance in all of our work. Optimism: We believe in the potential of all Tennessee students to reach high levels of academic achievement. We believe that, in collaboration with our colleagues across the state, we can and will build a system that helps our students meet their potential. We operate with a strong sense of possibility that we can accomplish difficult tasks, and we foster innovation in ourselves and others. Judgment: We aspire to make wise decisions. Therefore, we seek input from a diverse set of perspectives and think critically about the impact of our choices. We use accurate data to set goals, analyze results, and to make changes based on evidence. Courage: We are unwaveringly student-centered in our decision making, prioritizing the needs of students over the comfort of adults. We align our words and our actions to the core belief that all students can achieve at a high level when we provide the opportunities that they deserve. We make hard decisions to improve the academic achievement and life prospects of Tennessee students. Teamwork: We believe that excellent teams, composed of high-performing team members, can have an enormous impact on student achievement. We value the diverse experiences and commitment to service that each team member brings. We strive to communicate effectively within teams and across teams, ensuring that we are successful in helping all Tennessee students reach their potential.

”

The Department of Education is led by the Commissioner of Education. The Commissioner of Education is appointed by the governor. As of June 2015, the officeholder of this position was Candice McQueen. Her predecessor was Kevin Huffman.

The Tennessee State Board of Education is the governing body of the state's public education system. The board is composed of nine members (one from each of the state's congressional districts plus a student member). Members are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Tennessee General Assembly. All members serve five-year terms, with the exception of the student member, who serves a one-year term.

Regional comparison

See also: General comparison table for education statistics in the 50 states and Education spending per pupil in all 50 states

The following chart shows how Tennessee compared to three neighboring states in school year 2011-2012 with respect to number of students, schools, the number of teachers per pupil, and the number of administrators per pupil. Further comparisons between these states with respect to performance and financial information are given in other sections of this page.

Regional comparison, 2011-2012
State	Schools	Districts	Students	Teachers	Teacher/pupil ratio	Administrator/pupil ratio	Per pupil spending
Tennessee	1,802	140	999,693	66,382	1:15.1	1:293.2	$8,242
Alabama	1,618	170	744,621	47,723	1:15.6	1:293.5	$8,813
Kentucky	1,565	194	681,987	41,860	1:16.3	1:215.9	$9,309
Mississippi	1,069	163	490,619	32,007	1:15.3	1:251	$7,928
United States	98,328	17,992	49,521,669	3,103,263	16	295.2	$10,994
Sources: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), "State Nonfiscal Public Elementary/Secondary Education Survey", 2011-12 v.1a. National Center for Education Statistics, "Table 2. Number of operating public schools and districts, state enrollment, teacher and pupil/teacher ratio by state: School year 2011–12" U.S. Census Bureau, "Public Education Finances: 2011,Governments Division Reports," issued May 2013

Demographics

See also: Demographic information for all students in all 50 states

The following table displays the ethnic distribution of students in Tennessee as reported in the National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data for 2011-2012.

Demographic information for Tennessee's K-12 public school system, 2011-2012
Ethnicity	Students	State percentage	United States percentage**
American Indian	1,876	0.19%	1.10%
Asian	16,595	1.66%	4.68%
African American	233,357	23.34%	15.68%
Hawaiian Nat./Pacific Isl.	1,037	0.10%	0.42%
Hispanic	66,268	6.63%	24.37%
White	670,565	67.08%	51.21%
Two or more	9,995	1.00%	2.54%
**Note: This is the percentage of all students in the United States that are reported to be of this ethnicity.

Enrollments by region type

See also: Student distribution by region type in the United States

A plurality of students in Tennessee attended rural schools during school year 2011-2012. Approximately 54 percent of the state's students attended rural or town schools, compared to the approximately 46 percent who attended city or suburban schools.

Student distribution by region type, 2011-2012 (as percents)
State	City schools	Suburban schools	Town schools	Rural schools
Tennessee	29.8%	16.1%	14%	40.2%
Alabama	20.6%	16.9%	14.4%	48%
Kentucky	19.6%	14.6%	22.8%	43.1%
Mississippi	10%	8.9%	28.9%	52.2%
U.S. average	28.9%	34%	11.6%	25.4%
Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD)

Academic performance

Education terms
For more information on education policy terms, see this article.
School board elections portal Glossary of education terms School choice on the ballot Education on the ballot

NAEP scores

See also: NAEP scores by state

The National Center for Education Statistics provides state-by-state data on student achievement levels in mathematics and reading in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Compared to three neighboring states (Alabama, Kentucky, and Mississippi), Tennessee had the second highest share of fourth and eighth grade students who scored at or above proficient in both math and reading in school year 2012-2013.

Percent of students scoring at or above proficient, 2012-2013
	Math - Grade 4	Math - Grade 8	Reading - Grade 4	Reading - Grade 8
Tennessee	40%	28%	34%	33%
Alabama	38%	20%	31%	25%
Kentucky	41%	30%	36%	38%
Mississippi	26%	21%	21%	20%
U.S. average	41%	34%	34%	34%
Source: United States Department of Education, ED Data Express, "State Tables," accessed May 13, 2014

Graduation, ACT and SAT scores

See also: Graduation rates by groups in state and ACT and SAT scores in the United States

The following table shows the graduation rates and average composite ACT and SAT scores for Tennessee and surrounding states during the 2012-2013 school year. All statements made in this section refer to that school year.

Comparison table for graduation rates and test scores*
State	Graduation rate, 2012		Average ACT composite, 2012		Average SAT composite, 2013
	Percent	Quintile ranking**	Score	Participation rate	Score	Participation rate
Tennessee	87%	First	19.7	100%	1,709	8%
Alabama	75%	Fourth	20.3	86%	1,608	7%
Kentucky	78%	Fifth	19.8	100%	1,741	5%
Mississippi	75%	Fourth	18.7	100%	1,673	3%
U.S. average	80%		21.1		1,498
*Regulatory Adjusted Cohort Rate (except for Idaho, Kentucky, Oklahoma, which did not report “Regulatory Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate,” but instead used their own method of calculation). **Graduation rates for states in the first quintile ranked in the top 20 percent nationally. Similarly, graduation rates for states in the fifth quintile ranked in the bottom 20 percent nationally. Source: United States Department of Education, ED Data Express

Dropout rate

See also: Public high school dropout rates by state for a full comparison of dropout rates by group in all states

The high school event dropout rate indicates the proportion of students who were enrolled at some time during the school year and were expected to be enrolled in grades 9–12 in the following school year but were not enrolled by October 1 of the following school year. Students who have graduated, transferred to another school, died, moved to another country, or who are out of school due to illness are not considered dropouts. The average public high school event dropout rate for the United States remained constant at 3.3 percent for both school year 2010–2011 and school year 2011–2012. The event dropout rate for Tennessee was higher than the national average at 3.6 percent in the 2010-2011 school year, and 3.7 percent in the 2011-2012 school year.

Educational choice options

See also: School choice in Tennessee

As of June 2015, school choice options in Tennessee included: charter schools, intra-district and inter-district open enrollment policies and online learning programs. In addition, about 7.96 percent of school-age children in the state attended private schools in the 2011-2012 academic year, and an estimated 2.67 percent were homeschooled in 2012-2013.

Education funding and expenditures

See also: Tennessee state budget and finances

Breakdown of expenditures by function in fiscal year 2012
Source: National Association of State Budget Officers

According to the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO), the state spent approximately 17.7 percent of its fiscal year 2012 budget on elementary and secondary education. This was unchanged from fiscal year 2008.

Comparison of financial figures for school systems
State	Percent of budget (2012)	Per pupil spending (2011)	Revenue sources (2011)
			Percent federal funds	Percent state funds	Percent local funds
Tennessee	17.7%	$8,242	14.72%	45.75%	39.53%
Alabama	20.9%	$8,813	14.6%	53.77%	31.63%
Kentucky	19.8%	$9,309	16.4%	52.15%	31.46%
Mississippi	16.9%	$7,928	22.33%	45.95%	31.72%
Sources: NASBO, "State Expenditure Report," Table 8: Elementary and Secondary Education Expenditures As a Percent of Total Expenditures U.S. Census Bureau, "Public Education Finances: 2011,Governments Division Reports," issued May 2013

Revenue breakdowns

See also: Public school system revenues in the U.S.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, public school system revenues in Tennessee totaled approximately $8.6 billion in fiscal year 2011. The table and chart below present further detail, including revenue sources, for Tennessee and surrounding states.

Revenues by source, fiscal year 2011 (amounts in thousands)
	Federal revenue	State revenue	Local revenue	Total revenue
Tennessee	$1,272,825	$3,955,476	$3,417,293	$8,645,594
Alabama	$1,077,070	$3,965,614	$2,332,472	$7,375,156
Kentucky	$1,164,688	$3,704,126	$2,234,478	$7,103,292
Mississippi	$1,006,465	$2,071,467	$1,429,770	$4,507,702
U.S. total	$74,943,767	$267,762,416	$264,550,594	$607,256,777
Source: National Center for Education Statistics

\| \n <pbars size=650x300 title="" grid=true ymin=0 ymax=100 legend colorscheme=excel> ,Federal revenue,State revenue,Local revenue Tennessee,14.72,45.75,39.53 Alabama,14.60,53.77,31.63 Kentucky,16.40,52.15,31.46 Mississippi,22.33,45.95,31.72 U.S. total,12.34,44.09,43.56 </pbars>

Public school revenues by source, fiscal year 2011 (as percents)

Expenditure breakdowns

See also: Public school system expenditures in the United States

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, public school system expenditures in Tennessee totaled approximately $8.9 billion in fiscal year 2011. The table and chart below present further detail, including expenditure types, for Tennessee and surrounding states.

Expenditures by type, fiscal year 2011 (amounts in thousands)
	General expenditures**	Capital outlay	Other***	Total expenditures
Tennessee	$7,977,696	$661,195	$295,742	$8,934,633
Alabama	$6,582,496	$564,183	$255,905	$7,402,584
Kentucky	$6,264,504	$733,357	$254,031	$7,251,892
Mississippi	$3,888,831	$368,906	$88,046	$4,345,783
U.S. total	$520,577,893	$52,984,139	$29,581,293	$603,143,325
**Funds spent operating local public schools and local education agencies, including such expenses as salaries for school personnel, student transportation, school books and materials, and energy costs, but excluding capital outlay, interest on school debt, payments to private schools, and payments to public charter schools. ***Includes payments to state and local governments, payments to private schools, interest on school system indebtedness, and nonelementary-secondary expenditures, such as adult education and community services expenditures. Source: National Center for Education Statistics

\| \n <pbars size=500x300 title="" grid=true ymin=0 ymax=100 legend colorscheme=excel> ,Current expenditures,Capital outlay,Other Tennessee,89.29,7.40,3.31 Alabama,88.92,7.62,3.46 Kentucky,86.38,10.11,3.50 Mississippi,89.49,8.49,2.03 U.S. total,86.31,8.78,4.90 </pbars>

Public school expenditures, fiscal year 2011 (as percents)

Personnel salaries

See also: Public school teacher salaries in the United States

Note: Salaries given are averages for the state. Salaries may vary between a state's urban, suburban, and rural districts and should be adjusted for cost of living. For example, a MacIver Institute study of average teacher salaries in 60 metropolitan areas found that salaries in New York City were the third-highest in absolute figures but 59th-highest when adjusted for the cost of living.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the average national salary for classroom teachers in public elementary and secondary schools declined by 1.3 percent from the 1999-2000 school year to the 2012-2013 school year. During the same period in Tennessee, the average salary decreased by 2.7 percent.

Estimated average salaries for teachers (in constant dollars**)
	1999-2000	2009-2010	2011-2012	2012-2013	Percent difference
Tennessee	$49,645	$49,412	$47,866	$48,289	-2.7%
Alabama	$50,139	$50,779	$48,802	$47,949	-4.4%
Kentucky	$49,717	$52,884	$50,558	$50,326	1.2%
Mississippi	$43,535	$48,722	$42,339	$41,994	-3.5%
U.S. average	$57,133	$58,925	$56,340	$56,383	-1.3%
**"Constant dollars based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, adjusted to a school-year basis. The CPI does not account for differences in inflation rates from state to state."

Organizations

Unions

In 2012 the Fordham Institute and Education Reform Now assessed the power and influence of state teacher unions in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Their rankings were based on 37 different variables in five broad areas, including: resources and membership, involvement in politics, scope of bargaining, state policies and perceived influence. Tennessee ranked 41st overall, or "weak," which was in the fourth of five tiers.

The main union related to the Tennessee school system is the Tennessee Education Association (TEA), an affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA). For the 2003 tax period NCAE had: $10.20 million in total revenue, $9.51 million in total expenses and $11.94 million in total assets.

List of local Tennessee school unions:

• Tennessee Education Association
• Memphis Education Association
• Metropolitan Nashville Education Association
• Shelby County Education Association
• Knox County Education Association
• Sumner County Education Association
• Hamblen County Education Association
• Tullahoma City Educational Association
• Marshall County Education Association
• AFT Jellico

Government sector lobbying

See also: Tennessee government sector lobbying

The main education government sector lobbying organization is the Tennessee School Boards Association.

Transparency

Tennessee's official, statewide spending transparency database can be accessed here.

Studies and reports

State Budget Solutions education study

See also: State spending on education v. academic performance (2012)

State Budget Solutions examined national trends in education from 2009 to 2011, including state-by-state analysis of education spending, graduation rates and average ACT scores. The study showed that the states that spent the most did not have the highest average ACT test scores, nor did they have the highest average graduation rates. A summary of the study is available here. The full report can be accessed here.

See also

• Public education in Tennessee
• Tennessee
• Education Policy in the U.S.