The Tennessee Department of Education released district-level data on Tuesday from the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) retake opportunity, one of the pathways to promotion for third-grade students who failed to score proficient on the original administration of the assessment.
Statewide, roughly 44,000 students, which translates to 60 percent of the state’s third-graders who took the initial assessment, did not score proficient on the spring TCAP English Language Arts assessment. By law, those students are eligible for a retake exam. According to the TDOE, over 25,000 students took advantage of the opportunity.
While the department did not release state-wide results, analysis shows that half of Tennessee’s districts had between 10 percent and 20 percent of their students achieve proficiency through the retest. Additionally, a third had between 10 percent and 20 percent of students improve from “below” proficiency to the next level of “approaching” proficiency.
The retakes came four to six weeks after students took the original exams.
“The TCAP retake assessment pathway provides an important opportunity for third-grade students identified for potential retention to be able to retest to move directly to fourth grade, and we are proud of students who participated in the retake for exploring this pathway,” said Interim Commissioner Sam Pearcy (pictured above). “The work and dedication of schools, districts, educators, and families across the state made this opportunity possible for our students, and we are glad to see such strong participation in the first year of implementing this law.”
For some districts, the jumps in proficiency were even greater.
- Clay County had 62.5 percent of its students achieve proficiency, with a 47 percent participation rate.
- Franklin Special School District had 36.4 percent achieve proficiency, with a 22 percent participation rate.
- Lexington City Schools had 40.5 percent achieve proficiency, with a 69.8 percent participation rate.
- Perry County Schools had 26.3 percent achieve proficiency, with a 55.9 percent participation rate.
- Smith County School had 31.9 percent achieve proficiency, with a 50.4 percent participation rate.
- Sweetwater City Schools had 33.3 percent achieve proficiency, with a 39.5 percent participation rate.
- Unicoi County Schools had 30 percent achieve proficiency,
Before the retake being administered, expectations were that there would be little change in student scores.
Last month during a State Board of Education Workshop session, David Laird, TDOE assistant commissioner of Assessment and Accountability, explained to board members that the department had done considerable analysis on the retake assessment to ensure that the exam created by the TDOE carefully aligned with, and mirrored, the spring TCAP.
“We are using our operational item bank.” He told the board, “That for every item that went in there, we have prior operational or field test results.”
When questioned further by board members, he reassured them that they had consulted with numerous partners and that despite the retake not including the writing portion of the exam, “The performance levels on the retake have very strong psychometric similarity to what we get out of the spring retake.”
SBE Chair Robert Eby asked, “So you would assume that the statistical probability that a student would then move from one category to another on a retake is probably pretty low?”
“I would say so,” Laird responded, “These tests have high reliability. If you keep giving the same tests to a child, those scores should not change considerably. Particularly if you are administering them just a couple weeks apart.”
Assessment experts, who wished to remain anonymous, told The Tennessee Star, “There are so many variables at play here. Studies show that when a student takes a test for the second time, they typically score better. Since these were all students taking TCAP for the first time, those who did the retake may have benefited from familiarity with the process.”
They also indicated that they would be interested in knowing the time limit for the retake versus the original. TCAP is a long test due to the number of standards that must be covered; if the retake was shorter that would indicate fewer standards were covered.
The Star attempted to contact the TDOE for further information on why some districts saw higher-than-expected changes in student performance but did not receive a response.
Those who scored “proficient” on the retake may not pass to fourth-grade with no further requirements.
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TC Weber is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. He 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.
Photo “Sam Pearcy” by Tennessee Department of Education. Background Photo “Classroom” by 12019.
