Proposed legislation may change Tennessee’s TCAP Retention law
TENNESSEE (WJHL) — Some area fourth graders are under pressure to perform well on this year’s TCAP test or face retention. These are students who underperformed on the reading portion of the TCAP in third grade and chose to receive tutoring in order to advance to fourth grade.
One Sullivan County mom is worried about her son doing well on his test this week. Kimberly Stephens says she was surprised when her son Tripp didn’t do well on the TCAP last year in third grade.
Community Heroes: Baseball fans inspire flag placement at Tannery Knobs
“I had no idea he was even struggling academically, and then for him to fail this test out of nowhere, it was a complete shock,” she said.
Under the Tennessee third-grade retention law, Stephens could have chosen one of three ways to make sure her son progressed to fourth grade:
Appeal the decision
Go to summer school and pass another test at the end of the summer session
Agree to tutoring in fourth grade
Stephens chose tutoring. But with that option, Tripp is now faced with being retained if he doesn’t show “adequate growth” on his fourth-grade TCAP.
Assistant Superintendent of Administration for Kingsport City Schools Andy True said the Tennessee Department of Education has a way to calculate that growth.
“So there is a formula that the state will use when they look at the TCAP from third grade, and the growth that was needed for students,” he said. “Those who did the tutoring, that’s a piece of what they need to do to move on to the fifth grade.”
The Tennessee Department of Education says thousands of fourth graders who have been tutored all year could be retained based on their test scores.
In the Tri-Cities area, the following school districts reported the number of fourth graders “in danger” of being retained.
Carter County- 66
Washington County-89
Kingsport-55
Johnson City- 26
Elizabethton- 6
Stephens said it’s not fair, because Tripp makes mostly As and Bs in the classroom.
“He’s a smart boy, he tries, and the teachers love him; he’s a great student and a great friend, he has all of these positive attributes about him, and then all over one test that goes downhill.”
Some lawmakers agree—a bill co-sponsored by Rep. Gary Hicks of Rogersville passed the senate Wednesday. It would create more ways for students to get to fifth grade other than just TCAP scores.
Other benchmarks and input from the student’s principal and parents would be considered before making the decision to retain the student. The bill may not pass in time to help Tripp, though. If not, Stephens said she’s considering homeschooling, because either way, she said her son is more than a test score.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather.
