Committee Starts Work to Revamp Teacher Testing

Chattanooga, Tenn.

A committee appointed after Tennessee lawmakers enacted major changes to the state's k-12 education policy is working on a fast timeline to create a pilot teacher evaluation system.

"It's a massive undertaking," said Jessie Register, who heads the Metro-Nashville school system and is one of nine people appointed to the committee by Gov. Phil Bredesen.

In a January special session, lawmakers approved new education policies, including the requirement that half of teacher evaluations be based on student achievement data. The changes were made in part to improve the state's chances in the federal Race to...