Tennessee releases third and fourth grade test scores

(Courtesy: Tennessee Department of Education)

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)-  The Tennessee Department of Education released the first batch of this year’s TCAP test results.

They released data for the English and Language Arts exam for third and fourth graders.

After the passage of the Third Grade Retention Law in 2021, third graders must either meet or exceed expectations on this exam to be promoted.

Roughly the same amount of third graders were able to do so this year, with 41% of students meeting expectations compared to 40 percent last year.

The amount of fourth graders who passed rose two points to 46%.

State leaders argue this is a sign the retention law was the right move.

“Tennessee’s strategic education investments have resulted in significant gains in reading for students across the state,” said Tennessee Governor Bill Lee. “As we continue our work to ensure that all Tennessee students can read at grade level, we remain committed to supporting teachers and empowering families with multiple pathways to achievement so every student can thrive in their academic journey.”

Educators wonder if the increase in test scores for fourth graders is a sign that more kids should receive extended education like summer school.

“I think we need to do this earlier,” said J.C. Bowman, the executive director and CEO of Professional Educators of Tennessee. “I think we need to catch these kids with reading difficulties at an earlier age, and there’s a debate whether, how early do you teach people to read? Are you ready for reading readiness and all that, but the problem becomes if you don’t catch them earlier, then you get into the problem of when you retain kids, the older that you retain kids, the least impactful it is.”

He also added that hard data will tell the real story, saying, “We look forward to reviewing the data and numbers of schools and districts statewide to see where we can improve and focus future efforts.”

Hamilton County Schools tells us they expect to be able to share what their numbers look like in the next couple of weeks.