Parents: This year's fourth graders now have pathways to fifth grade. What you need to know.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The controversial fourth-grade retention law has been updated to give struggling readers more options to move to the next grade level.

Previously, the law said if a child failed to show enough improvement on this year's TCAP test they would automatically be required to repeat the fourth grade. Thousands of families across Middle Tennessee were facing this plight.

This stemmed from the Third Grade Retention Law. This new law affects kids who struggled with the English and reading sections of the TCAP test during third grade. Rather than summer camps, these kids attended fourth-grade tutoring throughout the school year. Each of those students had to show enough improvement on their TCAP test this year to move on to the fifth grade. State lawmakers decided to give students other options and not automatically hold all of them back if they don't score high enough on this year's test.

In HB 2326, lawmakers spelled out the new rules for struggling fourth graders. Students can either show enough improvement on their individual TCAP tests or meet the improvement threshold set by the school.

The new law also allows the parents and teachers to decide whether the student should repeat the fourth grade or move on to fifth grade with a tutoring plan. The new law also says a student can't repeat fourth grade more than once.

How we got here

I have covered fourth-grade retention since families started emailing me confused about what would happen with their kids. I talked with school board members and school districts who felt frustrated.

Unlike third grade, these families had no pathway to fifth grade from fourth grade. There wasn't a clear idea of how it would go as early as January.

Around 44,000 third graders were affected by the results of their TCAP testing in spring 2023. Of those, 12,000 kids are in this situation.

Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds told a group of senators at the beginning of the year that local school districts should already have the communication in place to tell families what they should be doing for fourth-grade retention.

I learned that wasn't the case.

In March, I covered the Tennessee State School Board, which sent a message to the legislature that the current law was too complicated and not going to work well. That body said retention efforts should start in younger grades and not as late as fourth grade.

I talked to fourth graders who said they felt anxious and nervous that their future was based on one single test, not on how much they learned all year.

If you have questions about the new state law, you should set up a meeting with your child's teacher and principal to create a plan for next year if you're worried about how they did on this year's TCAP test.

You can also always email me with questions at emily.west@newschannel5.com.