By Julie Hubbard - The Tennessean -

Tennessee has launched more charter schools, built a new statewide student data system and tested students under a tougher new curriculum in the last year, Gov. Bill Haslam said Tuesday. Now it's time to turn education leaders' attention to the state's lowest-performing schools and to evaluating teachers more effectively.

Haslam visited Stratford High School in Nashville, marking the first anniversary of Tennessee's Race to the Top grant win. A year ago, the announcement came that the federal government would give the state $500 million over four years as a reward for major education reforms. Tennessee and Delaware were the first winners under the program.

The state has spent $27.5 million of its $250 million share. The other $250 million is being split among school districts.

"We all realize we are still very much at the starting point," Haslam said.

State officials say they have trained 4,000 classroom teachers on using students' Tennessee Value Added Assessment System data to improve instruction and started more Science, Technology, Engineering and Math programs — such as the one at Stratford — to beef up students' interest in those fields.

In the year ahead, the state plans to focus on improving its 13 lowest-performing schools — all facing sanctions under the federal No Child Left Behind law. Options include management or co-management by the state or nonprofits such as charter schools.

Haslam said another upcoming challenge is completing the teacher evaluation forms. Teachers and principals will be evaluated for the first time using the new criteria of student test scores in the coming school year.

Sen. Jamie Woodson, R-Knoxville, who also visited Stratford, said it was one thing for Tennessee to win Race to the Top.

"It's now time to achieve the outcomes," she said.