The story sits within broader education policy discussions, including related articles on teacher pay and state budget investments in education.

Tennessee expanded its private school voucher program in 2024, at a cost of about $300 million following a request from Governor Bill Lee.

Recent reporting shows only 17% of voucher students were proficient in math and 24% proficient in English, according to The Tennessean.

The expansion included a policy change that eliminated state standardized tests for voucher recipients, limiting future measurement of academic outcomes.

Sources cited include The Education Report, The Tennessean, and Chalkbeat, which cover voucher data, proficiency percentages, and public school TCAP results.

In contrast, state tests show public school students with 43% proficiency in math and 40% in English.

Current data show voucher students perform significantly worse than public school peers, with a gap of 20 points or more.

The article notes no direct future comparison data will exist due to the removal of testing for voucher students, making outcome assessment uncertain.