This article presents the state education finance and governance profile of Tennessee. The 17th largest state, Tennessee is home to 2.01% of the nation's inhabitants. Funding of K-12 education in Tennessee is accomplished via a formula known as the Basic Educational Program (BEP). This plan primarily utilizes school district enrollment numbers to determine appropriate funding levels in three areas: instructional, classroom, and nonclassroom. In 2007, governor Phil Bredesen sought significant improvements to the BEP formula. These improvements, dubbed "BEP 2.0," increased the state's share of instructional costs by 10%, expanded funding for at-risk and English Language Learner (ELL) programs, and included provisions for areas of high student growth. Tennessee's 136 school districts, 1,718 public schools, and four state-operated schools fall under the supervision of the Tennessee Department of Education. This agency is headed by the state commissioner of education, a gubernatorial appointee. Meanwhile, after years of generally poor rankings, the state is steadily improving in many education areas, specifically in the areas of assessments, for which the state ranked tenth in the 2009 "Education Week" report "Quality Counts," and transitions and alignment, ranked fourth among states. (Contains 1 table.)