State Launches Educator Survey

NASHVILLE (February 24) — Today, the Tennessee Department of Education and the Tennessee Education Research Alliance (TERA) at Vanderbilt University launched the 2025 Tennessee Educator Survey. All educators, administrators, and certified school staff in Tennessee are invited and encouraged to take the survey and share their perspectives and expertise on education issues affecting their classrooms and schools, and help inform strategies and goals at the state, district, and local school levels.

Tennessee educators should receive an email with a personalized survey invitation link to participate by the end of this week. The survey is voluntary, confidential and will remain open February 24th through April 11th. Through a lottery, six schools with over a 90% participation rate will be eligible for a staff appreciation grant of $5,000 each.

“The Tennessee Educator Survey continues to be an impactful tool to hear directly from educators as our state’s leaders make insightful decisions that are beneficial to Tennessee’s students,” said Lizzette Reynolds, Commissioner of Education. “I strongly encourage all Tennessee educators to participate in the survey to better inform decision-making across K-12 education.”

Now in its 14th year, the survey measures key topics that district and school leaders monitor annually, including school climate, educator evaluations, ELA and math instruction, professional learning, and student readiness. Last year, over 55% of Tennessee educators completed the survey, offering key insights into learning acceleration, teacher satisfaction, postsecondary readiness, and much more.

“This year, we've added new questions on issues facing students and educators including AI and cell phone policies," said Laura Booker, Executive Director of TERA. "Educator perspectives on these issues help inform decisions made in their districts and schools and provide essential information to state leaders so they can best support local needs.”