Tennessee Learning Agenda

What is the Learning Agenda?

The Tennessee Learning Agenda is a plan that highlights the key research questions state leaders seek to answer. It promotes the use of solid evidence to guide budget, policy, and program decisions. Released in June 2024, this five year plan (FY25–FY30) brings state agencies and research partners together and encourages research partnerships to help answer the most important questions facing Tennessee.

The Tennessee Learning Agenda focuses on the research questions that matter most for moving the Governor’s priorities forward, helping agencies work together, and connecting the state with outside researchers. The goal is to produce clear, useful evidence about which programs and policies best serve Tennesseans, understand why they work, and under what conditions. This allows us to apply those lessons broadly and improve results for all Tennesseans.

The Learning Agenda emerged from a comprehensive prioritization process. With the Governor's operating priorities as the foundation, OEI gathered input from all 23 state cabinet agencies on priority programs and policies. Dozens of agency leaders, programmatic staff, and external researchers informed the final questions. The development process also engaged academics, associations, and non-profit organizations to ensure relevance beyond state government.

In 2025, Tennessee made strong progress using the Learning Agenda to build and apply evidence that supports smarter budget, policy, and program decisions. Through cross‑agency collaboration and partnerships with researchers, the state focused on answering high‑priority questions tied to Tennessee’s biggest challenges and opportunities. 2025 Progress Update (PDF).

OEI shares annual progress updates documenting evidence-building activities, research findings, and how results are informing state decisions. The 2025 Progress Update presents information about evaluation and other research activities across all five priority areas.

State agencies expanded access to timely, actionable data by launching and maintaining 10 publicly accessible dashboards in 2025. These dashboards track outcomes related to education, workforce development, housing, broadband access, aging, healthcare, agriculture, and land use. This information helps decision‑makers and the public better understand trends and measure progress and supports more informed planning and investment across state government. Examples include:

Agencies used pilot programs, case studies, and targeted analyses to better understand which approaches improve outcomes. These efforts helped refine literacy interventions, strengthen workforce and infrastructure planning, and inform improvements to maternal health benefits. By testing ideas before scaling them, Tennessee reduced risk and ensured that resources are directed toward strategies that show promise. Examples include:

  • Piloting Instructionally Coherent Literacy Intervention in Knox County Schools tests a new way of helping struggling readers by making sure extra support matched what students were already learning in class.
  • The Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) with the U.S. Department of Energy piloted a tool that maps historical electric outage data to inform grid resilience planning to enable regions to prioritize energy infrastructure upgrades based on vulnerability and service gaps.
  • Using state maternal mortality data, TennCare developed and launched a postpartum eligibility extensions, lactation consultations, and a diaper benefit pilot . Based on the result of the pilot test program changes were implemented following approval from state and federal partners
     

The Learning Agenda emphasized collaboration between agencies, program staff, and external partners such as universities and regional organizations. These partnerships increased the quality and usefulness of evaluations and helped connect education, workforce, health, and economic development data. Cross‑agency coordination strengthened the state’s ability to address complex issues that no single agency can solve alone. Partnership examples include:

Program evaluations in 2025 focused on understanding effectiveness, efficiency, and outcomes—especially where findings could inform operational and budget decisions. Evaluations examined statewide literacy initiatives, workforce training programs, agricultural investments, and school funding reforms. Together, these studies provided practical insights that help the state improve programs and make better use of public dollars. Selected evaluation efforts include:

  • The Annual Book Fairs Evaluation was a replication randomized controlled trial of annual book fairs effect on summer reading in grades 1–3 in rural, high-poverty elementary schools.
  • The Department of Agriculture produced a 2023 Return on Investment study of the TAEP, which found $6.55 in local economic return for every dollar invested. Another evaluation conducted in cooperation with the Office of Evidence and Evaluation, found that TAEP investment is associated with retaining cropland, pasture, and hay production.
     
  1. OEI and partners begin developing/updating the Learning Agenda.
    2. Agencies conduct evaluations on Learning Agenda questions.
    3. Agencies provide updates on Learning Agenda. 
    4. Learning Agenda findings are used to create a publicly available list of state‑funded programs and show whether each program is backed by strong evidence.
    5. Learning Agenda findings help decision-makers invest state dollars where they work best.

The Learning Agenda is a living document that evolves as priorities shift and new information becomes available.

Researchers, practitioners, state employees, community organizations, and philanthropies can all contribute to answering Learning Agenda questions. How to contribute:

  • Publish, promote, and disseminate research findings related to Learning Agenda priorities
  • Partner on evaluations through OEI funding opportunities
  • Join the cross-agency community of research and evidence champions
  • Email questions or proposals to OEI.Research@tn.gov