Department of Education says few students have been held back under retention law

New data from the Tennessee Department of Education indicates that about 40 percent of third graders in Tennessee achieved proficiency in English language arts (ELA) on 2024 state tests, among other findings.

According to the department’s Chief Academic Officer Kristy Brown, who provided the State Board of Education with an overview on state test results on Thursday, fewer than 1 percent of third grade students were held back under the state’s controversial Third-Grade Retention Law. 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, while fourth graders who fail to show “adequate growth” can advance on a case-by-case basis with the approval of parents, teachers, and administrators.  

Brown noted that recent state data showed that just over 1 percent of fourth graders were held back after receiving tutoring during the 2023-24 school year, and about 4 percent have left their public school.

This year’s third graders had the option to advance to the fourth grade by showing proficiency on an additional test, through legislation that passed last year. Brown said that most of the 44,000 third graders who were at risk of being held back used other pathways to advance to the fourth grade, while others were able to retake the test. Some students advanced with the help of summer camps or tutoring programs.

“Of the 44,984 that were eligible for a retake, 22,745 did [retake the test], and then that resulted in an additional 3,274 third grade students that reached proficiency to be promoted into the fourth grade,” she said.

According to Brown, nearly 27 percent of students were exempt from retention for various reasons, including being previously retained, having a disability that impacts reading, or being an English language learner. About 4 percent retook the test and achieved proficiency.

Of the 12,260 fourth grade students that participated in tutoring during the previous school year, about 14 percent achieved proficiency in the spring, while over 32 percent showed adequate growth based on testing measurements designed to predict whether a student will achieve proficiency by the time they take their last TCAP exams in eighth grade.

In addition, the data noted, 44 percent of at-risk fourth graders benefitted from a new pathway approved by lawmakers this year that allows students to advance with the approval of their parents, teachers, and administrators. Under this pathway, fourth graders who make it to the fifth grade must receive tutoring moving forward.

Brown said that many students in the state appear to be moving in the right direction in terms of ELA proficiency, with the help of state interventions such as summer programming geared toward combatting learning loss that came as a result of COVID-19.

“What we found was that students who participated in summer learning programs maintained their learning, while students who did not demonstrated ‘summer slide,’” she said.

For more information on the state’s findings, visit www.tn.gov.