Governor signs law designed to reduce the number of children retained in the fourth-grade under new reading requirements

Governor Bill Lee (Photo by Governor Lee's office)

Governor Bill Lee signed legislation Tuesday that should ease some concerns parents have that their fourth-graders could be held back this year.

That possibility is due to a provision of the state’s Third-Grade Retention Law that went into effect last school year.

Under the law, third-graders who fail to show reading proficiency on state tests can only advance to the fourth-grade through summer school and/or tutoring during their fourth-grade year. Those impacted children who are now in the fourth-grade, still need to show “adequate growth” on state testing to be promoted to fifth-grade.

The Tennessee Department of Education has estimated as many as 66 percent won’t meet that threshold this year, leaving roughly 6 to 10 thousand fourth-graders at risk for retention.

Concerns about that possibility led lawmakers to pass the “Alternative Pathways to Fifth-Grade” bill last month that allows fourth-graders who fail to show “adequate growth” on state testing to advance if there’s agreement from all parties in a conference with parents, teachers, and the school principal.  Those fourth-graders would additionally need to receive tutoring in their fifth-grade year under the legislation Governor Lee signed.Families of third-graders impacted by the new law are receiving notice this week.

Tuesday night, Rutherford County Schools Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Dr. Kelly Chastain told school board members that just over 42-percent of the district’s 3,100 third- graders tested proficient in reading.

“That’s about one-percent lower that last year but every cohort is different, so talking with principals they are pleased with this percentage. We are very pleased with that,” said Chastain.

Under the new law, some third-graders will qualify for an appeal of retention and others still are considered exempt if they have disabilities, are English learners, or have already been retained.

Rutherford County Schools expects as many as 42-percent of its students who failed to test proficient will be exempt.Students who aren’t exempt will also be able to advance without summer school or tutoring if they test proficient on a retake of state assessments that are occurring this month.