LEBANON, Tenn. (WTVF) — Over the next few days, parents of third-grade students in Tennessee will likely be glued to their phones and email accounts, waiting on test results from the TCAP test.
Under the new controversial Third Grade Retention Law in Tennessee, the results of that test could determine whether a student goes on to fourth grade, has to do summer school and tutoring or even repeats the grade.
Every county is delivering the results a little differently, but in Wilson County Schools, they say to look for emails over the next few days.
"It’s a big day, big weekend to look over those scores," said Bart Barker, spokesperson for Wilson County Schools. "Our staff are dedicated to this. We want to make sure it’s handled correctly — it’s handled right."
In Rutherford County, preliminary data showed 43.5 percent of third-graders were proficient on the English Language Arts portion.
If your student scores below or approaching grade level on the TCAP English Language Arts portion of the test, it doesn't mean they automatically repeat the grade.
Your student could qualify for an exemption. Under the new law, if your student is an English learner with less than two years of ELA classes, they've previously been retained in grades K-3 or they have a diagnosed or suspected disability that impacts reading — they move on to fourth grade.
If your student scores "approaching grade level" on the TCAP test, students can either retake the test and if they score better, they can move on to the fourth grade. They can also enroll in a month-long summer camp, and if they attend 90% or more of the classes, they can proceed to fourth. Parents can also file an appeal within 14 days.
If your student scores "below grade level" on the TCAP, they can also retest and potentially move on to fourth grade if their new score is high enough. Otherwise, they'll have to attend the summer camp and receive fourth grade tutoring.
"There are plenty of steps to make sure that that child arrives to fourth grade on time, and our district is going to be there every step of the way, with families, with students," said Barker.
The Tennessee Department of Education produced this flow chartto help parents determine next steps. TDOE also provided these tips for parents.
Barker says overall, their goal is to prevent anyone from repeating the third grade. "That's where we want them, that’s where the families want them, that’s where students need to be and we’re going to try our best to get them there," he said.
