TEA’s 20/20 Vision campaign is a two-year organizing effort to accomplish the association’s two Big Hairy Audacious Goals set in 2015.

1. Eliminate high stakes decisions based on standardized tests that affect Tennessee’s educators, students and schools by the year 2020, and
2. Increase Tennessee’s investment per student to the Southeastern average by the year 2020, with the ultimate goal of reaching the national average.

In the three years since the BHAGs were adopted, the association has made important progress toward accomplishing our goals. In testing, TEA’s advocacy has resulted in a test transparency law (though we are still waiting for the state to properly implement it), a reduction in testing for students, a reduction of the weight test scores carry in teacher evaluations, a law prohibiting the use of TVAAS in teacher licensure decisions and a number of hold harmless laws as needed when the test failed year after year.

In funding, the state has made unprecedented investments in public education funding, including teacher salaries. Of course, as you are reminded each time you look at your pay stub, the increases allocated by legislators in Nashville aren’t really showing up in teacher paychecks. We are now two years from our BHAG’s 2020 deadline. It is possible we could realize both of these goals by the deadline if more TEA members get engaged, involved and ready to focus with 20/20 Vision!