Tennessee is rewriting its literacy story — and it starts now.

Only 36.4% of Tennessee students are reading proficiently, placing the state in the bottom half nationally. But change is underway.

With leadership from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and in collaboration with the Tennessee Department of Education, the new Tennessee Reading Research Center has launched to improve literacy outcomes statewide. Leading the charge is Professor Deborah Reed, a nationally recognized expert in reading research.

The rest of the story can be found on the Our Tennessee website.

Deborah Reed, director of the Tennessee Reading Research Center at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, was interviewed Nov. 4 on The Hallerin Hilton Hill Show on News Talk 98.7, WOKI-FM in Knoxville.

The Tennessee Reading Research Center has two Graduate Assistantships available for the 2023-24 academic year. One position requires being enrolled in Theory and Practice in Teacher Education’s Literacy Studies Concentration. The other requires enrollment in the Evaluation Statistics and Methodology Program.

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