"Gov. Phil Bredesen will push ahead with a proposal to tie teacher evaluations to test scores without the full support of the state's biggest teachers union, saying Thursday that he doubted he could reach a compromise on a crucial issue before the start of a special legislative session next week."
Bredesen said he will ask the legislature Monday to appoint an independent committee to come up with a new system for deciding whether teachers are awarded tenure in their fourth year. The new system will be based significantly on student test scores, meaning that teachers' careers could soon hinge on whether their students show improvements on standardized tests.
Bredesen plans to move forward without the endorsement of the Tennessee Education Association. The group, which represents more than 55,000 schoolteachers statewide, says it accepts the notion of using test scores in tenure decisions, but it wants to limit the extent to which they are a factor.
The group also says it wants the committee that will devise the new system to include its members and for the legislation to ensure that its recommendations will not be set aside by the State Board of Education.