‘She cried herself to sleep’: TCAP results released, anxiety felt as retesting period begins
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Parents of third graders across Tennessee who didn’t meet TCAP expectations are being forced to make quick decisions to keep their student from being held back.
The Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) is required by the state under the third grade retention law that passed in 2021 and went into effect last year. The law impacts all third graders and thousands of fourth graders who don’t meet TCAP expectations the year prior.
Third graders who score “below” or “approaching” proficiency on the TCAP have the option of retaking the test and passing, successfully appealing their score, attending 90% of summer school, and/or receiving a year of free, state-provided tutoring to progress to the fourth grade.
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Even honor roll students, like Fallon Johnson’s daughter, did not meet the TCAP expectations, despite telling her mother she felt confident after taking the test. When she received her scores Wednesday, the results brought her to tears.
“I was fully confident in how she performed on the test based on how she felt, but then we got that letter yesterday, and it was just like all that went out the door,” Johnson said. “I held her, I hugged her, I gave her a popsicle. I didn’t know what else to do. She just cried herself to sleep. That’s not okay.”
Johnson quickly made the decision to file an appeal, and her daughter plans to retake the TCAP soon. The pressure on the 9-year-old to pass is impacting her well-being.
“TCAP does more than just show a score. It affects home life, it affects mental health, and our kids don’t need to go through that,” Johnson said. “It’s telling the kids, ‘You worked for nothing all year long. You got those good grades for nothing. They didn’t matter. This TCAP matters,’ but that’s not how it should be.”
Hilary Luckett’s son, who attends a reading support group and an after-school program with certified teachers, works hard to be on the honor roll. He discovered his test scores did not meet TCAP expectations after his final day of third grade, which has caused a lot of stress and anxiety.
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“You think about the last day of school for a typical student, you’re going to go to the last day of school, you’re going to see your friends, tell them bye, see you next year, hug your teachers, get your report card which is typically going to say you’re promoted to the next grade, but for third graders this year that’s different, because we didn’t even have their scores back yet which can determine what going to fourth grade looks like and how many hoops they have to jump through to get there,” Luckett said.
Luckett’s son is now awaiting his scores from his retake TCAP test, and if the results are similar to the first time around, he will likely have to attend summer school and/or be tutored for a year to progress to fourth grade.
Luckett and Johnson both argued the TCAP test is not an accurate reflection of a student’s intelligence and readiness for fourth grade, and the pressure of passing causes unnecessary stress on young kids.
“It’s just not a true measure of what they’ve done and what they’ve accomplished and what they’re capable of,” Luckett said. “To have all of that joy [from the school year] kind of sucked out because of one day, one test, one performance that you had that measured your entire year, it’s a bad place for a kid to be.”
Last year, which was the first year the third grade retention law was in effect, 60% of third graders did not meet TCAP expectations. However, thousands of parents and students filed a successful appeal, or opted into summer school and year-long tutoring. Just 1.2% of third graders ended up being held back.
A new change to the law, which was recently signed by Gov. Bill Lee, will give teachers, parents, and principals the final say in whether a fourth grader with a second straight year of low TCAP scores should be held back, or advance to fifth grade.
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Luckett believes teachers should also determine whether a third grader is ready to move to the next grade level, and not a single test.
“Why give the deciding factor of how my child gets to fourth grade, how many hoops he has to jump through during summer and the next school year, why give this power to a test?” Luckett said. “Give the power to the people who pour into him every day; who are trained and educated and actually real life invested in his success.”
Students can retake the TCAP test between now and May 31. Parents can file an appeal up to 14 days after receiving their child’s scores.
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