How to Polish a Rotten Report Card
🍎 TN’s education accountability problem · TDEC issues its first commercial fusion license · Democratic pollster: Molder within single digits of Hatcher? · Much more!
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If the scores aren’t great, just talk about the gains: inside Tennessee’s education accountability problem
From Megan Podsiedlik
Tennessee’s education accountability system has long left parents and taxpayers questioning what the numbers really reveal about the state of its schools. In some cases, districts tout promising gains in student growth and progress, even as overall achievement remains disappointing. The contrast creates confusion and raises questions about whether current measures paint an accurate picture of educational outcomes.
“When we use Memphis as an example, they have 13 straight years of gains," JC Bowman, Executive Director and CEO of Professional Educators of Tennessee, told us. “Can the kids read, write, and do arithmetic on grade level? No.”
Hiding Behind the Progress Report The emphasis on gains has become a shell game for districts with poor student achievement. “When our achievement is low, we talk about our gains,” said Bowman. “And so then if we don't have achievement, we go, 'But look, gains are up one percent!'"
Will The State Step In? To address the confusion (and potential deceptiveness), Tennessee officials are now looking to demystify the state’s school accountability system by potentially creating a single, unified framework aligned with the Trump administration’s broader push to return greater control over education policy to the states.
Currently, Tennessee uses two methods to evaluate schools: a federal accountability system and Tennessee’s A–F system. While both systems consider student growth and academic achievement, they place different weight on those measures and serve different purposes.
Bowman says the obstacle state policymakers will have to overcome is striking the right balance. “We can no longer just base it upon gains, even though gains are important,” he said. “Reading, writing, and doing basic math on grade level—that's the objective. That's the destination.”
MNPS Audits When asked about Metro’s planned comprehensive performance audit and the state’s potential forensic audit of Metro Nashville Public Schools, Bowman says the district should welcome the evaluations as an opportunity to flag problems and gain public trust.
“The most important thing, in my opinion, is to look at vendors and contracts,” said Bowman. He went on to explain how extending vendor contracts within school systems can sometimes lead to an unduly bloated budget.
Though the initial process of contracting out school district services is competitive, those contracts can later be extended through a no-bid process, and additional services can be added to existing agreements. Without competition for contract extensions or additional services, schools may miss opportunities to secure better pricing and services. In worst-case scenarios, the lack of competitive bidding during extensions can invite opportunities for inflated contracts, conflicts of interest, or even improper arrangements.
Silencing the Teachers Bowman commended former MNPS teacher Samira Hardcastle, who recently spoke publicly about being pressured to change students’ grades, a lack of support for teachers handling discipline, and other challenges within Nashville schools: “The lady did a great service to other teachers because she spoke out on things that they wanted to say but were afraid to.”
Bowan has advocated for a discrete teacher reporting mechanism since former governor Bill Haslam’s administration. “There needs to be an ombudsman, whether you call it an inspector general or an ombudsman, where they can call directly, like a hotline, and report these issues and let them weed through it.”
Overall, Bowman says MNPS, just like every Tennessee school system, deserves both trust and scrutiny: “And those are not contradictory terms.”
✹ THE ARCHITECTURE OF OUR GLORY
Back to Our Roots We're sponsoring an event with the Meriwether Academy as they host Justin Shubow to speak about how beauty, civic architecture, and public design shape American culture and identity.
Shubow is president of the National Civic Art Society and a former chairman of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, best known for championing classical and traditional architecture in American public life.
For gentlemen only. Buy Tickets.
HEADLINES
- ☢️ TDEC issues first commercial nuclear fusion license. Tennessee has issued Type One Energy the state’s first commercial nuclear fusion license, making it the first state in the nation to license a fusion machine under its new regulatory framework. The license clears a key hurdle for the company’s planned fusion project at the former Bull Run fossil-fuel site near Oak Ridge, where Type One ultimately aims to build a 400-megawatt fusion power plant. (Post)
- 🗳️ Democratic pollster finds Molder within single digits of Hatcher in 5th District. A new Democratic-aligned Impact Research poll finds Columbia Mayor Chaz Molder within single digits of Republican Charlie Hatcher in Tennessee's newly redrawn 5th Congressional District. The poll reportedly has Hatcher at 48 percent and Molder at 40 percent, with the remainder undecided, suggesting a potentially more competitive race than the district's heavily Republican makeup would initially indicate. (TNJ)
- 💰 Tourism in Davidson County generated record $11.6 billion in visitor spending in 2025. Visitors to Davidson County spent a record $11.6 billion in 2025, a 3.5 percent increase from 2024, cementing Davidson County as Tennessee's largest tourism economy. The spending generated approximately $1.2 billion in state and local tax revenue, supported $3.2 billion in labor income, and came from roughly 17.4 million visitors. (Visit Music City)
✹ PROPERTY TAX CALCULATOR
What Moved Your Bill? Use our handy new tool to see what contributed to your property tax bill increase: the reappraisal or the rate hike. (Try It Out)
DEVELOPMENT
- Sylvan Park's Lion's Share slated for rebrand 4 months after opening (NBJ)
- Lower Broadway building eyed for interactive game business (Post)
✹ METRO COUNCIL WATCH
New Council Watch Features We've added additional features to Council Watch. In addition to who's funding your council member, you can now see how they vote and who they vote with most frequently. (Take a Look)
THINGS TO DO
View our calendar for the week here.
📅 Visit our On The Radar list to find upcoming events around Nashville.
🎧 On Spotify: Pamphleteer's Picks, a playlist of our favorite bands in town this week.
👨🏻🌾 Check out our Nashville farmer's market guide.
TONIGHT
🪕 Troubadour Blue @ Station Inn, 8p, Info
🎸 esperanza spalding @ City Winery, 7:30p, $100, Info
🎸 Twang Tuesday @ Acme Feed & Seed, 7p, Free, Info
🎸 Honky Tonk Tuesday @ Eastside Bowl, 8p, $10, Info
+ two-step lessons @ 7p, The Cowpokes @ 8p
📰 Check out the full newsletter archive here.
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Today's newsletter is brought to you by Davis Hunt, Megan Podsiedlik, and Camelia Brennan.