Nashville, TN— Wednesday, the Tennessee Department of Education released district-level data on the TCAP retake opportunity, one of the pathways to promotion for third grade students who may benefit from extra learning supports. The data, accessible here, includes district-level percentages of third grade students who were eligible to take the retake, who participated in the TCAP retake, and who improved their performance on the TCAP retake, benefitting from participating in this pathway to promotion to fourth grade in the upcoming school year.

“The TCAP retake assessment pathway provides an important opportunity for third grade students identified for potential retention to be able to retest to move directly to fourth grade, and we are proud of students who participated in the retake for exploring this pathway,” said Interim Commissioner Sam Pearcy. “The work and dedication of schools, districts, educators and families across the state made this opportunity possible for our students, and we are glad to see such strong participation in the first year of implementing this law.”

Third grade students scoring “approaching” or “below” on the ELA portion of the 2023 spring TCAP assessment have multiple pathways to fourth grade promotion, including the TCAP retake opportunity, free summer camp and/or tutoring in the upcoming school year. Students who participated in the retake opportunity and did not score proficiently are able to participate in other pathways to promotion to fourth grade, including summer camp and/or tutoring in the upcoming school year.

Legislation proposed this year by Governor Bill Lee and passed by the Tennessee General Assembly expanded summer camp opportunities to more students, including rising kindergarten through rising ninth grade students, providing additional learning supports to more grades and meeting the participation requirements for promotion to fourth grade for eligible third grade students.

The statewide window for the TCAP retake administration was May 22nd through June 5th, though local school districts selected their specific assessment schedule to administer the TCAP retake within the window.

On Tuesday, May 30th, the Parent Appeals Form opened, and it will close on June 30th. If a 3rd grade student scored “approaching” on the ELA portion of the TCAP or the TCAP retake, the parent may also submit an appeal to the Tennessee Department of Education within 14 days of receiving the retention decision from their student’s school, documenting their growth on an approved Universal Reading Screener, or outlining an event that impacted the student’s ability to perform well on an assessment.

On Wednesday, May 24th, the department released district-level 2023 TCAP performance averages for 3rd grade English Language Arts (ELA). Access the 2023 TCAP ELA average scores for each district here.

Additionally, on Monday, May 22nd, the department released statewide averages for third grade TCAP ELA scores ahead of previous years’ timelines, highlighting historic gains in third grade reading after the launch of a new, comprehensive K-3 literacy strategy for Tennessee public schools.

On Friday, May 19th, individual student ELA scores for third graders were shared with Tennessee school districts, which are responsible for communicating with families about their student’s score and pathways to fourth grade promotion, including the TCAP retake opportunity, parent appeal free summer camp and/or tutoring in the upcoming school year.

Families can find critical timeline information posted on the department’s website and should coordinate with their student’s school to ensure they can make informed decisions about their student’s education. The annual, full TCAP release, including all grades and subjects for state-level and district-level results, will be released in separate announcements later this summer.

For additional information about Tennessee’s third grade acceleration strategy, visit https://www.tn.gov/education/learning-acceleration. For more information on Reading360, visit https://www.tn.gov/education/reading-360.html. For media inquiries, contact [email protected].