Nashville, TN- Today, the Tennessee Department of Education released the 2021-22 Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) state-level results, which show how the state’s and districts’ shared commitment to mitigating learning loss and investing in student achievement is helping our students to recover and accelerate learning. These results include both spring 2022 and fall 2021 end-of-course exams in English Language Arts (ELA), mathematics, science, and social studies.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Tennessee maintained its commitment to an annual statewide assessment to provide reliable data on how students are performing, and this past school year reflects Tennessee schools moving forward with a statewide laser focus on helping students catch up from a pandemic and accelerate their learning. Overall, the statewide 2021-22 TCAP student participation rate was 98% with 59 districts having participation higher than 99%.

Results from the 2021-22 TCAP assessments show that elementary students significantly improved their ELA scores and are performing at a level similar to pre-pandemic years. Additionally, improved performance in math was evident for Tennessee students of all ages. Every student group showed an increase in proficiency as demonstrated on the 2022 TCAP assessments.

“Today, I am incredibly proud to be able to share Tennessee’s 2021-22 TCAP assessment results, which demonstrate the hard work of Tennessee’s districts, schools, educators, and families, the leadership of Governor Bill Lee, and the Tennessee General Assembly—and the incredible impacts all of these efforts have had on improving academic outcomes for students,” said Commissioner Penny Schwinn. “Tennessee’s gains to meet or exceed pre-pandemic proficiency levels were hard-earned, and now is the time to ensure we continue the policies, practices, and programs that are supporting academic achievement.”

Together, district and school leaders, educators, and families have made tremendous efforts to support children, close gaps, and accelerate learning. The 2021-22 TCAP results are the first look at the results of this monumental effort. An overview PowerPoint of the 2021-22 TCAP results is available here and key takeaways include:

English Language Arts (ELA): 

• Notably, ELA proficiency has returned to pre-pandemic levels in almost all grades, with more students scoring Met and Exceeded than in 2019, including:
  • A 6-point gain in elementary school proficiency reflects the highest proficiency the state has seen in the last five years.
  • A 6-point gain in middle school proficiency from 2021 matches our pre-pandemic achievement.
  • A 7-point gain in high school proficiency reflects the highest proficiency the state has seen in the last five years.
• 36.4% of Tennessee students are meeting grade-level expectations in ELA.
• Proficiency gains were reflected in all tested grades in ELA.
• ELA-Related State Supports & Initiatives: Reading 360; Tennessee Literacy Success Act; TN ALL Corps; universal implementation of high-quality instructional materials; summer camps; Best for All Central resources.

 Math: 

• 3 in 10 Tennessee students are meeting grade-level expectations in math.
• Based on national projections, math recovery is expected to recover faster than ELA.
• Growth in math matched or exceeded gains seen in previous years and is outpacing math projections for pandemic recovery. Between 35-55% of learning loss gaps are closed in math.
• Math-Related State Supports & Initiatives: TN ALL Corps; summer camps; Best for All Central resources; free online tutoring resources available for all students.
• School Level Spotlight:
  • Elementary: A 4-point gain in proficiency, which reflects a 33% gap closure from the pandemic.
  • Middle: A 6-point gain in proficiency from 2021, which reflects a more than 50% gap closure from the pandemic.
  • High School: A 4-point gain in proficiency, which reflects a 50% gap closure from the pandemic.

 Science:

• Overall, proficiency rates held steady for science, with an increase of 2 percentage points.
• All grade levels experienced an increase in students scoring Exceeded Expectations.
• Science-Related State Supports & Initiatives: Ongoing partnership with TSIN to expand STEM-designated schools from 15 in 2018 to 88 in 2022; extended programming on PBS and Best for All Central resources; expanded STREAM programming in Tennessee summer camps.

 Social Studies:

• Overall social studies proficiency has continued to increase since 2017.
• Fewer students scored Below and Approaching, while more students scored Met and Exceeded Expectations.
• Social Studies-Related State Supports & Initiatives: Expanded resources on Best for All Central; strengthened the Governor’s Civic Seal program; strong statewide implementation of knowledge-building materials in English Language Arts (ELA).

In January 2021, Tennessee Gov. Lee and the Tennessee General Assembly convened a special legislative session on education, which addressed urgent issues facing Tennessee students and schools as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the special legislative session passed legislation on accountability, learning loss, literacy, and teacher pay. The Tennessee Learning Loss Remediation and Student Acceleration Act established summer learning loss bridge camps for elementary students to help them recover from learning loss and accelerate their achievement. Additionally, the Tennessee Literacy Success Act was passed and laid a policy foundation for literacy in the state to focus on improving literacy opportunities and ensure every student builds strong reading skills grounded in phonics.