Tennessee

Overview

Over the last eight years, Tennessee has taken positive steps to increase student access to early postsecondary opportunities (EPSOs), which provide students with the chance to earn postsecondary credit while in high school. In addition to expanding funding and access to dual enrollment and Advanced Placement courses, the state has also strengthened alignment of K-12 programming to higher education and the workforce. Despite this progress, significant challenges remain. According to ACT data, the majority of Tennessee high school students are academically underprepared for postsecondary education. Additionally, significant equity gaps exist when it comes to access to quality dual enrollment courses and other early postsecondary opportunities. Data across the EPSOs is not centralized and often hard to access, making it difficult for district leaders to evaluate the effectiveness. While the state’s college-going rate recently rebounded from the previous year, the current rate still shows a 10 percentage point decline since 2015. Racial equity gaps in college-going have narrowed but remain substantial.