©2009 NPT PHOTO BY DUAY O'NEIL

Dr. Tim Webb, Tennessee Commissioner of Education, spoke to the Cocke County Board
of Education during their Thursday meeting to explain coming changes in education.

COSBY-"Expect more with less."

These four words summed up the talks of two Tennessee Department of Education representatives who spoke to the Cocke County Board of Education on Thursday regarding quickly approaching major changes in education.

Dr. Tim Webb, State Commissioner of Education, and Robert Green updated board members about funding issues and coming changes in standards used to compile the annual Report Cards education systems receive each year.

Dr. Webb described the budget issues as "very critical."

"You've heard that the BEP and PreK funds are protected," he said, "and that such other areas as extended contract money and funds for the Coordinated Health programs are subject to further cuts."

Webb said that $70 million has already been pared from the state's education budget. "We tried to do our part to balance the budget," he said. "Then came the Stimulus and Stabilization dollars, and Gov. Bredesen put the monies back into the budget."

Webb emphasized that this new money is "non-recurring. There's no hope at this time that these dollars will come back, so at the beginning of the 2010-2011 year, we'll see lots of things we've done with this money as no more."

Webb urged the board to pay "close attention" to these matters.

Webb and Green also discussed the coming changes in testing standards.

Green told the board, "We were falling way short when our students' achievements were compared to others on a nation-wide basis. We received an 'F' from the Chamber of Commerce for false advertising."

Green said that although Tennessee students "scored well" on tests graded by Tennessee standards, the "fell short" on national standards.

"Now our standards are more rigid. The assessment is more rigid," he said.

Because of more rigid standards and assessments, Webb said that many local systems who have previously earned "A's" in various testing areas will probably score "B's" and "C's."

"The main reason we're here is to make sure the principals and teachers don't get blamed for this," he explained.

"To compare this to sports," said Green, "teams who raise their standards and play tougher schedules have to work harder to win more games."

"Tennessee hasn't raised the threshold since 1998. Our base is too low."

"The state is making tough decisions that parents and students often won't make. For example, students (or their parents) might choose not to take a tougher course if they might not make an A. But with the new standards, they will be required to take many of the courses anyway and, in the long run, will be better prepared because of the harder work."

"We don't want a teacher or principal to be looked down on because we changed the standards," he added. "You need to anticipate what's coming and let the community know what's coming."

Webb pointed out that Tennessee is not the only state adopting tougher standards. "Every state in the union is doing something like this," he said. "America is moving toward a common national assessment."

Green said that by past assessment standards, Tennessee students simply had to score a D-minus. "This is not good," he said.

He then added, "Couple this with the lost money issues which will come home at the same time, and you see what you're facing. We've reached the point where we must examine how we operate. We're expecting more with less."

On a brighter note, Green said that of $5 billion in federal funds recently given to the Department of Education, about $4 billion remains. "States are competing for this money, which is expected to be divided 10 ways. Tennessee is considered to be one of the top five states vying for this Race to the Top money. An estimated $400 million is possible here."