In the aftermath of the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) test data release for third-graders by the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE), legislators are pleased and encouraged, while parents are angry and confused.
On Friday, TDOE released scores to districts across the state. Due to the late distribution time, there was a variance in when parents received their child’s score. Some districts shared results with families on Friday night, while others in the larger urban districts didn’t receive results until Monday afternoon.
Lucy Kells, the parent of a Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) third-grader, told WPLN, “I’m still very angry about the way it was rolled out,” she said. “It’s painful to hear that some schools were being communicated with and some weren’t.”
Upon receiving their student’s scores, many parents were perplexed that their children were at risk for retention, despite earning good grades and passing benchmark tests all school year. Others were relieved to receive confirmation that their child would move to fourth-grade.
Since the release of scores, many have taken to social media to air grievances. Local talk shows and state legislators have been inundated with phone calls and emails by parents voicing concerns and questions.
“I’m glad to see a focus on literacy rates and a push to improve them—that’s long overdue.” Said MNPS parent Amy Pate told The Tennessee Star, “But there’s so many caveats and ways not to be retained that it seems like something that will help in name only and make it “look like” we’re doing something to improve literacy rates.”
For their part, despite ” logistical challenges,” legislators are satisfied with the initial rollout. State Senator John Lundberg (R – Bristol) told The Star, “I have some concerns with the rollout and the communication to parents on both the state and local level, but for the most part, I’m pleased.”
Lundberg added, “I’m encouraged by the results. Note that I said encouraged and not overjoyed. There is more work to be done, but I do think they provide evidence that we are on the right track. We will continue to evaluate as data comes in.”
On the House side, State Representative Scott Cepicky (R-Culleoka) echoed Lundberg’s thoughts, “I think the results serve to provide guarded optimism.”
Cepicky also recognized the need for improved communications from state and district officials.
The implementation of the new law comes with TDOE leadership in flux. Commissioner Schwinn will resign effective June 1. Her replacement, Lizzette Gonzalez Reynolds, does not start until July 1, but sources told The Star that Reynolds plans to meet with legislators and department officials starting June 15. Current Deputy Superintendent Sam Pearcy will serve as acting director in the interim between the two.
When asked by The Star if the lack of a fully engaged state superintendent negatively impacted the process, both legislators were quick to dismiss any concerns. Lundberg said, “We’ve done a lot of work on the back end of this, so any current issues are implementation problems. The department will just have to work those out.”
Cepicky did acknowledge that some issues stem from a lack of capacity in the department. Under Schwinn, there has been a high rate of staff attrition at the TDOE.
He said, “One of the primary charges of the new commissioner will be to restaff the department, and restore relations and trust with the local districts.”
For her final week as commissioner, Schwinn is in D.C. as part of a panel convened at the Reagan Institute Summit on Education.
Delays in distribution were attributed to local districts needing time to filter results further. The data provided by the state did not remove students who were considered ineligible for retention due to exclusions included in the law – having a suspected reading disability, English Learner status, or having previously been retained. Those decisions are made at the school level based on an individual student assessment.
Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) is projecting that up to 62 percent of their third-grade students may be exempt from the retention law due to a combination of student results and exclusions.
Of the 73,433 Tennessee students who took the Spring TCAP, 29,373 scored proficient, with 44,060 falling short of the mark. While results show that 60 percent of Tennessee’s third graders are at risk for retention, that number is lower than it would have been in previous years.
The 2022 TCAP results indicated that 64 percent of third-graders would have been at risk for retention. A slight difference that comes with certain caveats. This is the first time this cohort of kids has been subject to TCAP testing. The scores released on Friday are raw scores and have not gone through the post-equating process. Once scores are subject to the post-equating process, there may be a slight change between the raw scores, now available, and the final scores that families receive in late summer.
Students are considered proficient if they score 34 out of 52 possible points on the spring ELA TCAP. The state average was 29.5. A sampling of individual counties shows:
- Bradly County – 31.9
- Cleveland County – 27.6
- Cheatham – 30.5
- Dickson – 30.7
- Hamilton County – 29
- Knox -County – 30.1
- Montgomery County – 30.3
- Shelby County – 25
- Davidson County – 26.5.
Retakes for those students eligible started Tuesday. Students took the initial spring TCAP administration with paper and pencil. Students will use a computer for the retake. There have been some technical issues in the early part of the retake administration.
In an email exchange, MNPS spokesman Sean Braisted told The Star, “There have been some issues reported by schools with accessing the Pearson online test program and they were directed to contact the Pearson tech support line to resolve them. I don’t have the total number of issues experienced, but we were able to re-test around 900 students yesterday.”
On Tuesday, an email was sent to local testing coordinators by testing vendor Pearson saying, “TDOE and Pearson are aware of an issue that prevented some districts from beginning Grade 3 ELA Retake administration yesterday. A fix has been applied by the Pearson team to address the issue statewide. Districts that were previously unable to access Schoolnet should now be able to complete administration.”
The Star’s inquiries to the TDOE for further details were not returned.
Recognizing the potential for technical issues, some districts chose to wait until next week to administer the retake. The testing window remains open until June 5.
Currently, only the literacy portion of the third-grade Spring TCAP. Math scores are expected to be delivered next month.
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TC Weber is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. He also writes the blog Dad Gone Wild. Follow TC on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected]. He’s the proud parent of two public school children and the spouse of a public school teacher.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect the accurate numbers of students participating in the Spring TCAP.
