Nashville third-graders improve in TCAP retake but some still need work to advance to the fourth-grade

Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) reported a welcome increase in scores from last week’s retake of the English language arts section of the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP).More than 20 percent of Nashville third-graders improved their scores on the retake including 11 percent who achieved proficiency and 10 percent who moved from “below” proficient to “approaching” proficiency. Students who tested proficient no longer need summer school and/or tutoring to advance to fourth grade under the state’s Third-Grade Retention Law.The Tennessee General Assembly passed the new law in 2021 to ensure students who showed a need for additional support in reading on the TCAP in April receive it before being promoted to fourth grade.The retake test is one component students who tested below proficiency on the TCAP can use to advance to the fourth-grade along with summer school programs and/or fall tutoring.  Some students are exempt from the retention law because of a disability or other factors and others will qualify for an appeal from retention.“Following re-takes, we currently estimate that 34% of third grade students are subject to the retention law and will require interventions or an appeal in order to be promoted, with approximately 32% of those students (or 11% of the student population) eligible for an appeal from retention based on their universal screening percentile. More students may be eligible for an appeal based on catastrophic events,” said district spokesperson Sean Braisted.MNPS currently has 17,260 students registered for the Promising Scholars summer school program and as of Wednesday, 3,860 are in third-grade.Braisted says the district is anticipating that some students who signed up for the summer camp may drop out because they no longer need it to advance to the fourth-grade.