Future Teachers and Administrators to Gain Valuable Data Analysis Skills

NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Department of Education and SAS Institute Inc. are partnering to provide valuable teaching resources for Tennessee’s Colleges of Education. Future educators and administrators will learn how to improve teaching effectiveness and student performance by working with simulated reports and results from the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS).

Used statewide in Tennessee’s public schools, TVAAS contains nearly two decades of student achievement data, enabling administrators and teachers to conduct historical trend analysis, looking at achievement patterns over time. Users can make predictions of student performance on standardized tests and in milestone courses such as 8th-grade Algebra I. The influence of schools and teachers on student progress can be measured, helping educators and administrators assure maximized academic growth opportunities for all students.

“Tennessee’s future teachers and administrators need to arrive at their first assignments prepared to use reliable TVAAS information,” Education Commissioner Timothy Webb said. “However, because of the confidential nature of the information, it has been difficult for Tennessee’s colleges and universities to adequately prepare students to utilize TVAAS data in school improvement. This valuable teaching resource will address that void.”

Through the partnership, students in Tennessee’s Colleges of Education will have access to the kinds of TVAAS information they will encounter in their educational careers. Simulated district, building, classroom and student results will be available for university professors to use in problems based activities. Podcasts embedded in the resources will explain how to interpret results.  SAS will provide the resources at no cost through individual agreements with Tennessee colleges and universities. 

“We are delighted to have the opportunity to partner with the Tennessee Department of Education in the preparation of tomorrow’s teachers and administrators,” said Dr. William Sanders, Senior Manager of the SAS team that provides TVAAS reporting. “We look forward to working with the Colleges of Education on strategies for implementing TVAAS interpretation and use in school improvement into their existing programs.  We want this project to benefit students across the entire learning spectrum.”

For more information on TVAAS, please visit https://tvaas.sas.com/evaas/welcome.jsp.

Tennessee Department of Education contact: Amanda Maynord Anderson at (615)-532-7817 or Amanda.Anderson@tn.gov.

SAS contact: Trent Smith at (919) 531-4726 or Trent.Smith@sas.com.
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