STATE OF TENNESSEE

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION BILL HASLAM

GOVERNOR 6th FLOOR, ANDREW JOHNSON TOWER 710 JAMES ROBERTSON PARKWAY NASHVILLE, TN 37243-0375

KEVIN HUFFMAN
COMMISSIONER

Thomas Beazley Executive Director Promise Academy Charter School Via email: tbeazley@promiseacademy.com April 18, 2012 RE: Request to waive T.C.A. 49-1-617 Dear Mr. Beazley: Pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. 49-13-105, I hereby waive the application of Tenn. Code Ann. 49-1617 to Promise Academy Charter School. Waiving this statute allows Promise Academy to award final semester grades in grades 3 through 8 that are calculated without students TCAP scores in mathematics, reading/language arts, science and social studies. This waiver is granted with the understandingverified by your request (attached below)that Promise Academy continues to administer the TCAP to students and provide results and other relevant information to parents in a timely manner. T.C.A. 49-13-105 specifically does not allow me to waive statutory or regulatory requirements related to federal and state student assessment and accountability. This waiver is, pursuant to State Board of Education Rule 0520-14-02-.04, applicable for just one year. Please resubmit this waiver request during the 2012-13 school year, if you wish to have the statute waived again. Sincerely,

Kevin S. Huffman Commissioner Attachment

From: Tom Beazley [mailto:tbeazley@promiseacademy.com] Sent: Wednesday, April 04, 2012 3:42 PM To: Rich Haglund Subject: Waiver Request Waiver Request from Promise Academy to Rich Haglund, Director of Charter Schools, State of Tennessee Promise Academy respectfully requests a waiver for state statute T.C.A. 49-1-617 requires each local board of education [to] develop a policy making TCAP scores count for something between 15 and 25% of a students spring semester final grade in math, RLA, science & SS. Promise Academy Mission and Goals from Charter Renewal Application Our central and only work is to teach and inspire the mind, body, and spirit of our children so that they can succeed in any academic or cultural setting. Promise Academy is committed to preparing children to excel in the nations most rigorous schools. This is our commitment to the MIND. We believe that physical wellbeing contributes to academic success and is essential to childrens development and happiness throughout life. This is our commitment to the BODY. We accept the responsibility to nurture our childrens will to succeed, to give them a sense of purpose and boundless possibilities and to instill in them the confidence and drive to participate fully in our commerce and culture. This is our commitment to the SPIRIT. Documentation on Request Promise Academy has been in existence since 2005 and has a proven track record of success. Our TVAAS scores place us as one of the top-performing charter schools in the State. This statement was confirmed by Stanford University's Credo study of Tennessee charter schools. The school has instituted a number of initiatives this year to raise student achievement scores. The most notable is a $35,000 investment in Achievement Network that assesses students four times a year with rigorous tests that align directly to the Tennessee Standards and is an accurate predictor of student success on TCAP. While the students know their ANet scores, their target goals, and meet with their teachers regularly, the faculty and administration do not, nor would we consider, averaging these scores into their classroom grades. Standardized tests are a snapshot of performance, including it in grades creates undo emphasis and the probability of skewing student performance. We believe the statute tying student TCAP scores to second semester grade average is not appropriate nor developmentally sound educationally for elementary school students. We understand the need to have students and parents understand the importance of TCAP and we understand the importance of having class grades accurately reflect student performance. However, we believe this statute is not appropriate for elementary students and places undue importance on standardized tests at an inappropriate time developmentally. Third graders take TCAP for the first time this spring and to tie a four day test to their final average places undue importance to a "score". While fourth and fifth graders have taken the test once and twice respectively, we believe their performance on the TCAP has the potential for significantly diminishing or overshadowing the hard work they have done all year and is not an appropriate state requirement. Our students are and should be inspired to learn as our mission states. Tying a snapshot score to final grade average is far from inspirational. In addition, TCAP scores are not public for several weeks after the school year concludes and will create undue hardships for teachers, administrators and other school personnel to update report cards well after the school year ends. Students and parents wish to know what the final grades are, it

is unfair to ask them to wait for several weeks, if not more than a month after school closes to receive their final grades. Promise Academy shares TCAP scores, along with other information with parents during Parent Teacher conferences and we will continue to do so. We ask that the requirement to average the score into the second semester grade be waived. Other Waiver Requests To the best of my knowledge, Promise Academy has not requested any other waivers. Respectfully submitted. Thomas A. Beazley Thomas A. Beazley |Executive Director | Promise Academy Charter School 1346 Bryan Street | Memphis, TN 38108 | 901.324.4456 (school)|901.324.4457 (fax) tbeazley@promiseacademy.com