Poll: Tennessee Teachers Strongly Support Student-First Teacher Performance Evaluations
More than 80 percent of Tennessee teachers surveyed hold positive views of the state’s student-outcomes-based teacher evaluation system, according to the 2025 Tennessee Educator Survey (TES) released Friday by the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) and the Tennessee Education Research Alliance (TERA).
This past spring, TDOE and TERA collected responses from 39,738 teachers and 2,156 school leaders statewide. The survey invited educators to provide feedback on a range of education topics relevant to Tennessee’s schools.
TDOE cites the survey as an indicator of a teacher’s day-to-day experience in the classroom that can help inform leaders at the state level.
“The Tennessee Educator Survey is an important tool that helps us understand what teachers are experiencing in and outside their classrooms every day,” said Lizzette Reynolds, Commissioner of Education.
TERA echoed the significance of this tool with its official statement on the survey release.
“The 2025 Tennessee Educator Survey continues to be one of the most important tools we have for understanding educators’ experience and need,” said Laura Booker, Executive Director of TERA.
Data Coverage on a Wide Range of Topics
This marks the 14th year of the survey. This year’s version covered eight major areas, including math curriculum and supports, teacher evaluation, early-career teacher supports, teacher retention, student discipline, career and technical education (CTE), cell phone policies, and artificial intelligence (AI). The survey period ran from February 24 to April 14, 2025.
TES data was additionally distributed at the district and school levels, reaching 1,056 schools across 121 districts.
Tennessee Teachers Agree with Accountability
Tennessee has promoted teacher accountability since the 2011-12 school year, when it became one of the first states to launch a student-first, statewide educator evaluation system.
That system, the Tennessee Educator Acceleration Model (TEAM), was a component of Tennessee’s early-2010s education remodeling. These new initiatives arrived in tandem with the First to the Top Act, which helped secure federal Race to the Top funding in 2010.
Nearly 15 years later, Tennessee teachers continue to affirm the value of this evaluation system. The survey found that more than 80 percent of educators agreed with all four statements supporting teacher evaluations. Specifically, 86 percent felt the system was fair, and 85 percent said it helped improve their teaching.
Context: Origins of Tennessee’s Teacher Evaluation System
In 2011, the Tennessee General Assembly established the TEAM system. Under the First to the Top Act, 50 percent of a teacher’s evaluation is based on student-centered outcomes — including 35 percent from student growth measures such as the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS), and 15 percent from other achievement indicators.
At the time, Tennessee’s K-12 student achievement scores lagged behind national averages, particularly in reading and math. The state sought reforms to boost educational outcomes and capitalize on federal grant opportunities offered under the Obama administration.
Research from the early 2000s supported the connection between teacher evaluations and student achievement. Key studies by Milanowski et al. (2004), Stronge et al. (2007), and Chetty et al.(2011) suggested that incorporating student achievement data into teacher evaluations could lead to improved student learning.
The TES Survey can be accessed on the 2025-results specific web page here.
