Updated January 2025
If a student is not proficient on the 3rd grade English language arts (ELA) section of the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) assessment, what are the pathways for promoting them to 4th grade?
Third grade students are eligible for free supports if they scored “approaching” or “below” on the ELA section of their TCAP test. Your student’s school will notify you if your student is at risk for retention and will provide information to you about the pathways that are available to your student to be able to move on to 4th grade, including free summer school and/or tutoring supports.
Students who score “below expectations” on the English Language Arts (ELA) section of the 3rd grade TCAP must attend Promising Scholars with 90% attendance May 30 – June 27, 2025, and participate in Accelerating Scholars tutoring for the entirety of their 4th grade year. Students must also demonstrate adequate growth on the 4th grade ELA TCAP.
Who determines whether an individual student meets one of the exceptions in relation to retention?
Schools in conjunction with MNPS personnel must determine whether an individual student meets one of the circumstances that exempts the student from retention. All decisions regarding exemptions must be made on a case-by-case basis considering the unique needs and circumstances of the individual student and documented in the student’s file.
Is there an appeal procedure available for a 3rd grade student who has been determined to not be proficient in ELA and therefore may not be promoted to the next grade level?
Yes, for students who have achieved the performance level of “approaching” on the ELA portion of the 3rd grade TCAP or ELA TCAP retake. Pursuant to T.C.A. § 49-6-3115(d), the State Board of Education promulgated rules to establish an appeals process, to be administered by the department, for a student who is identified for retention in 3rd grade based on the student’s achieving a performance level rating of “approaching” on the ELA portion of the student’s most recent TCAP test or ELA TCAP retake.
The law and subsequent rules require that if an appeal is filed, the filing must be made by the student’s parent or guardian or by authorized school personnel with written consent from the student’s parent or guardian. The option to appeal is not available to students scoring “below expectations.” T.C.A. § 49-6-3115(d) does not identify an appeals process for a 4th grade student who is fulfilling a promotion pathway requirement because of achieving a performance level rating of “below” or “approaching” on the ELA portion of the student’s 3rd grade ELA TCAP test.
How does an LEA make a promotion decision for a 3rd grade student who does not have a score on the ELA portion of the TCAP?
Based on the language of T.C.A. § 49-6-3115 (a), if a 3rd grade student does not take the TCAP or generate a score on the ELA portion of the TCAP and does not qualify for an exemption described in question #2 above, the student should be treated as if the student is not proficient in ELA. The law states, “Beginning with the 2022-2023 school year, a student in the 3rd grade shall not be promoted to the next grade level unless the student is determined to be proficient in English language arts (ELA) based on the student’s achieving a performance level rating of “on track” or “mastered” on the ELA portion of the student’s most recent Tennessee comprehensive assessment program (TCAP) test.” A student that does not have a valid spring ELA TCAP score should complete the retake assessment.
The retake assessment may serve as the valid score for promotion decisions and will ensure the student has a valid score for use as the baseline for the purposes of determining adequate growth in summer camps or on the 4th grade ELA TCAP. If a student does not have a valid ELA TCAP or retake score, they are classified as “below” for the purposes of promotion consideration.
If a student elects to attend Promising Scholars as a condition to being promoted to 4th grade and does not attend at least 90% of the days of the program, will they automatically be retained?
The law requires a student to maintain a 90% attendance rate as a condition of being promoted to the next grade. However, MNPS is determining how to offer make up services as needed in the event a student falls below 90% through no fault of their own.
What are the dates for Promising Scholars?
Promising Scholars will be held from May 28 to June 27, 2025. Registration and additional information can be found at Promising Scholars.
What does the TCAP retake entail and when will it be available?
The TCAP retake assessment has been designed to assess the same type of information as the ELA section of the 3rd grade TCAP and uses passages and items drawn from the operational bank of TCAP materials. The assessment will be multiple choice/multiple choice select to allow for immediate scoring of the assessment.
The assessment will not include constructed response items. It will be administered on a computer and pre-equated to allow for a performance level designation to be produced for the LEA within two (2) business days. Retake assessment dates are May 21 through May 22, 2025, at the students’ current school. Retake Assessments will also be given during Promising Scholars on May 29 and May 30, 2025, for students who miss the retake assessment dates previously mentioned.
The retake assessment will consist of two subparts, taking 75 minutes of standard testing time. In total, the assessment should take 85 minutes to complete the two subparts with a ten-minute break between sessions.
What information is available regarding the post-tests for summer programming?
The “post-test” will be comprised of TCAP-aligned items s that approximate the same blueprint as the spring TCAP assessment and is designed to take less than one hour to complete. The assessment will be administered online and will allow for accommodations. The post-test administration will begin June 24, 2025, at the Promising Scholars site.
Should an English learner (EL) who has received more than two (2) years of English instruction, but is not considered to be proficient in the English language according to SBE Rule 0520-01-19, be retained?
An EL should never be retained based solely on a lack of English language proficiency. The law reinforces this by providing that an EL who is deemed not proficient in ELA may be promoted if the EL has received less than two (2) years of ELA instruction. However, an EL who has received more than two (2) years of ELA instruction may still not be retained if it is determined that the EL is not proficient in ELA based solely on a lack of English language proficiency. Local education agencies (LEAs) must determine whether an individual EL should be retained, based on the EL’s individual needs. All decisions regarding the retention of an EL must be made on a case-by-case basis by the LEA or public charter school considering the unique needs, circumstances, and linguistic ability of the individual EL and documented in the EL’s file.
Most of the 3rd grade retention decisions will be easily and quickly determined by an LEA based on the EL’s Individual Learning Plan (ILP) and other educational records, but some will require a more in-depth analysis that will need to include conversations among parents and local educators with knowledge of language acquisition and knowledge of the EL after a review of all the individual EL’s records.
The law is intended to identify students who have a deficiency in reading that is not caused by a disability or lack of English language proficiency and to provide those students with additional general supports to improve their reading proficiency before they are promoted to the 4th grade.
What data and information should be considered when making 3rd grade retention decisions for ELs?
The following data and information should be taken into consideration when discussing possible retention of ELs: years of schooling in the U.S., language proficiency scores, EL’s stage of language acquisition, ILPs, input from classroom teachers, cultural and linguistic factors, EL’s access to scaffolds, interventions, and level of parental involvement.
If a student was promoted to the 4th grade based on a pathway that required the student to meet adequate growth targets on the 4th grade ELA TCAP to be promoted to fifth grade, are there any options to promote the student to fifth grade if adequate growth targets were not met?
Yes. If a student scores proficient on the fourth grade ELA TCAP, the student can be promoted. In addition, Public Chapter 989 was passed into law and signed by the Governor on May 21, 2024. If a student does not demonstrate adequate growth, a conference will be convened that will include the following categories of participants: Parent/guardian, ELA teacher, and Principal. A recommendation made by the majority of the categories of participants in the conference determines if a student is promoted to fifth grade and assigned a tutor or retained to fourth grade.