NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — For third and fourth grade parents in Nashville, the school district has several options to inform you this week about upcoming state testing.
The Third Grade Retention Law will affect both grades this year depending on how your student does on the TCAP test in April. While written in 2021, the law went into effect last spring.
Metro Nashville Public Schools has multiple time slots online from Feb. 27 until March 7. Kids in both grades need to score "met expectations" or "exceeds expectations" to avoid summer tutoring or potentially being held back in either grade.
Not every child is the same.
If your child has the following, the Third Grade Retention Law will now apply:
- an Individual Education Plan (IEP) that provides services for reading
- less than two years of English Language (EL) services
- current evaluation for a disability (IEP) that might include services for reading
What's Metro's advice?
While frustrating, TCAP results aren't instantaneous, meaning families won't know scores until the end of May at the earliest.
That means Metro is encouraging all third grade families to sign up for the Promising Scholars summer learning program just in case testing doesn't go well for your child.
The program is free with busing and meals provided at no-cost.
Additionally, your child has another chance to take the test.
If your child receives a score of "below expectations or "approaching expectations," students can retake the test at their school between May 22 and May 24. The re-take examinations will be a shorter version of the ELA portion of TCAP, administered online, and take approximately 75 minutes to complete.
Parents should know their student's results within approximately two days.
Is my child at risk of repeating fourth grade?
The adequate growth formula is now approved, so school districts will address with families and kids what attainment they need to reach.
If your child appealed and was successful, your student doesn't need to worry about fourth grade retention. The same goes for kids who went to summer school prior to fourth grade.
However — if your student only went through fourth grade tutoring and didn't appeal — your student could be one of nearly 12,000 facing a repeat of the fourth grade if your kid doesn't score high enough on the April TCAP test. Those in that circumstance would have scored below or approaching for reading and English on the third grade TCAP test.
The TCAP is administered this year between April 15 to April 30.
NewsChannel 5 reached out to 10 districts in Middle Tennessee.
Their advice?
Keep communicating with the local district. State officials said all information will come on a localized level, and that it will not come directly from the Tennessee Department of Education.
Fostering Hope provides Christmas for kids in foster care. I'm delighted to see Fostering Hope expand this year to expand their reach to now include kids in Foster care in metro AND foster kids in East TN hard hit by Helene.
-Bree Smith
