Tennessee defines 'adequate growth' in reading for third graders heading to summer school

As Tennessee third graders who fell short of a new state standard to move on to fourth grade navigate next steps, the state education board has given a long-awaited definition to a key term: "adequate growth."

The term appears in the state's guidelines for students who scored as "approaching" proficiency on the English language arts section of the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program test this spring. The state released raw scores for that section of the TCAP to districts Friday.

Per the guidelines, those students have a chance to attend summer school and demonstrate adequate growth to advance to fourth grade.

The same day as the raw scores released, the state board of education defined "adequate growth" during a regular meeting as a student scoring at least 5 percentage points higher on a post-summer school test than their baseline score. The baseline can be either their initial TCAP English language arts score or their retake score. Retesting and summer school dates vary by district.

What parents need to know: Third grade reading tests, rules, appeals

The growth measurement does not apply to students who scored as below proficiency. Instead, they must attend summer school and take on a free, state-provided tutor for the entirety of fourth grade.

The third graders must also meet a 90% attendance rate at summer school, regardless of whether they scored below or approaching proficiency.

Third grade reading scores: Districts begin to report TCAP results, up to 40% fall short

What about exemptions and appeals?

Some students whose scores fall short can move on to fourth grade without any further action. Those students include:

• English language learners who have received less than two years of English language arts instruction

• Those who were held back in a previous grade

• Students with disabilities or suspected disabilities that impact their literacy development

Parents of children who score as approaching proficiency can also file an appeal to the state within 14 days of a retention decision. Additionally, parents of children who scored in the 40th percentile or higher on a spring reading screening assessment or faced hardships during the days leading up to the TCAP can appeal.

The form to appeal a retention decision can be found at tn.gov/education/top-links/learning-acceleration.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: TN third grade reading law: Adequate growth defined for summer school