The Tennessee Department of Education releases data about third grade retention appeals, marking approximately two weeks left for families to submit a form to the department appealing decisions about their student’s potential retention in third grade. The appeals window will remain open until June 30, 2023, and the form is accessible at https://stateoftennessee.formstack.com/forms/thirdgradeappeal.
Since the appeals window opened on May 30, 2023, the department has received 9,205 appeal forms representing 8,206 unique students, as of Monday morning at approximately 7:00 a.m. CT. Of appeals received, 6,698 unique students have received approval on their appeal, 642 students have received a denial of their appeal, and 434 student appeals are still in process. Additionally, 432 appeal forms that were submitted were not applicable due to student eligibility.
Families of third grade students scoring “approaching” or “below” on the ELA portion of the 2023 spring TCAP assessment have multiple pathways to fourth grade promotionhttps://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/education/learning-acceleration/pathways-to-4th-grade-flow-chart-sizes/Pathways4thGrade_Poster24x18.pdf, including the appeals form, free summer camp and/or tutoring in the upcoming school year. Third grade students who scored “below” or “approaching” are eligible and are being prioritized for supports, including summer programming and tutoring supports, although some students may meet certain exceptions outlined in the law.
If a third grade student receives “approaching” on the ELA portion of the TCAP, the child’s parent may also submit an appeal within 14 days of local notification of receiving the decision of potential retention from their child’s school, documenting their child’s academic attainment on one of Tennessee’s approved Universal Reading Screeners or an event that impacts a child’s ability to perform well on the TCAP.
“Parents across the state are engaging in their child’s education and choosing the best pathway to ensure they are set up for success,” said Interim Commissioner Sam Pearcy. “We will continue to provide resources and supports as districts and schools have essential conversations with families of students who are not yet proficient and may benefit from additional learning supports like summer camp or tutoring throughout next school year.”
Legislation proposed this year by Governor Bill Lee and passed by the Tennessee General Assembly expanded summer camp opportunities to more students, including rising kindergarten through rising ninth grade students, providing additional learning supports to more grades and meeting the participation requirements, https://www.tn.gov/education/learning-acceleration.html including summer programming and tutoring supports, for promotion to fourth grade for eligible third grade students.
Fourth Grade Promotion Timelines
Beginning this summer, third grade students scoring “approaching” or “below” on the ELA portion of the spring TCAP assessment have multiple pathways to fourth grade promotion, including the TCAP retake opportunity, free summer camp and/or tutoring in the upcoming school year. Students who participated in the retake opportunity and did not score proficiently are also able to participate in other pathways to promotion to fourth grade, including summer camp and/or tutoring in the upcoming school year.
On May 22nd, the department released statewide averages for third grade TCAP ELA scores ahead of previous years’ timelines, highlighting historic gains in third grade reading after the launch of a new, comprehensive K-3 literacy strategy for Tennessee public schools. Then, on May 24th, the department released district-level 2023 TCAP performance averages for third grade English Language Arts (ELA). Access the 2023 TCAP ELA average scores for each district here.
On June 7th, the department released data about student participation in the TCAP retake opportunity. The data, accessible here, included district-level percentages of third grade students who were eligible to take the retake, who participated in the TCAP retake, and who improved their performance on the TCAP retake, benefitting from participating in this pathway to promotion to fourth grade in the upcoming school year. Of 44,395 Tennessee third grade students eligible to participate in the TCAP retake, 26,239 eligible students took the TCAP retake assessment. Statewide, 12.77% of retakers scored proficient and successfully completing the requirements of this pathway to promotion to fourth grade.
Families can find critical timeline information posted on the department’s website and should coordinate with their student’s school to ensure they can make informed decisions about their student’s education. The annual, full TCAP release, including all grades and subjects for state-level and district-level results, will be released in separate announcements this summer.
For additional information about Tennessee’s third grade acceleration strategy, visit https://www.tn.gov/education/learning-acceleration . For more information on Reading360, visit https://www.tn.gov/education/reading-360.html.
