From News 12: Tennessee’s Third Grade Retention Law is now being put to the test. The Third Grade Retention Law was passed in 2021, a
From News 12: Tennessee’s Third Grade Retention Law is now being put to the test.
The Third Grade Retention Law was passed in 2021, and requires students to score at either a proficient or exceptional level to be promoted to the 4th grade.
However, new numbers coming from the state suggest that the majority of students failed to meet this standard.
Data from the Tennessee Department of Education says that only 40 percent of students scored at a proficient or exceptional level.
This means 60 percent of third grade students will be subjected to the third grade retention law.
Hamilton County’s raw test data lines up exactly with the state’s average.
However, many of the 60 percent who scored at below or approaching will still be promoted, HCS says that a fourth of all students are eligible for exemptions.
These exemptions include students who are not native speakers and have received less than two years of English instruction, students with disabilities, and those who were previously retained.
An additional 12 percent of students are eligible to appeal their scores due to demonstrated growth or an outside circumstance impacting performance.
This leaves 807 students, or 23 percent of third graders in Hamilton County, exposed to the consequences of this law.
All students will have the option to retake the test, where they must score at a proficient level.
This process has already begun as Hamilton County offered retakes Monday and will again on Tuesday.
Cleveland City Schools says they are also beginning the testing process as well, but they have not released their data.
Bradley County Schools said they plan to release data once finalized after their retakes.
In their release, Tennessee’s Department of Education is touting the results as, quote, “historic gains”.
According to their data, the amount of students who scored at least at a proficient level was at a five percent increase from last year.
Hamilton County Schools say that starting Tuesday afternoon after retakes, they will begin communications with families who will need to either begin the appeal process or be required to attend their summer camp, Summer Reach.
Hamilton County says about 400 students as of now will be required to attend Summer Reach.
The camp runs throughout June and is free for families to sign up.
We have reached out to other districts in our area and waiting to hear how their students performed.
