By AP
Nashville, TN – Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen's proposal to require at least 50 percent of teacher evaluations and tenure decisions to be based on student testing scores has cleared its first major legislative hurdle. The Senate Education Committee voted 12-zero Wednesday to advance the measure the Bredesen says is needed to strengthen Tennessee's application for nearly a half-billion dollars in federal "Race to the Top" money. Other elements of Bredesen's proposal include creating a single school district for failing schools and requiring annual evaluations of all teachers.