The Tennessee General Assembly passed two key pieces of legislation during the 1st
Extraordinary Session of 2021—the Tennessee Literacy Success Act and the Tennessee Learning
Loss Remediation and Student Acceleration Act—to help ensure Tennessee students could
recover from the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and close gaps in students’ learning.
As part of this legislation, the General Assembly revised the state’s law regarding the promotion
of students from 3rd grade, T.C.A. § 49-6-3115. The statute was also revised during the regular
2021 legislative session. T.C.A. § 49-6-3115, which becomes effective in the 2022-23 school
year, ensures students who are determined to need additional supports in reading, receive
them before being promoted to 4th grade.
The following FAQ’s provide guidance to local education agencies (LEAs) and public charter
schools to use as they implement this new law.
THIRD GRADE PROMOTION FAQS Frequently Asked Questions
1. If a student is not proficient on the 3rd grade English language arts (ELA) section of the Tennessee
Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) assessment, what are the pathways for promoting them
to 4th grade?
Third grade students are eligible for free supports if they scored “approaching” or “below” on the ELA section
of their TCAP test. These are outlined in Question 2, below.
Your student’s school will notify you if your student is eligible for retention and will provide information to
you about the pathways that are available to your student to be able to move on to 4th grade, including free
summer school and/or tutoring supports.
2. If my student scores “below” or “approaching” on the ELA section of the TCAP assessments, are
there any exceptions to exempt them from the retention requirement?
If your child scores at “approaching” or “below” on the 3rd grade ELA TCAP, your child will NOT be
retained if any of the following are true:
| Your Child Scores Approaching |
Your Child Scores Below |
| My child has a disability that impacts reading. |
My child has a disability that impacts reading. |
| My child is an English language learner and has received less than 2 years of English instruction. |
My child is an English language learner and has received less than 2 years of English instruction. |
| My child has been retained previously. |
My child has been retained previously. |
| My child has a "disability" that impacts literacy development. |
My child has a "disability" that impacts literacy development. |
| My child was on-grade level on the re-take test. |
My child was on-grade level on the re-take test. |
| I enrolled my child in summer programming with 90% attendance and made adequate progress. |
I enrolled my child in summer programming with 90% attendance and made adequate progress. AND |
| I will allow my child to receive free tutoring at school during 4th grade. |
I will allow my child to receive free tutoring at school during 4th grade. |
*Children who are suspected as having disabilities should be evaluated in accordance with the processes required for the identification of students with disabilities as outlined in the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and state laws regarding services to students with disabilities. Those conversations, evaluations, and decisions must be reviewed for each individual child, just like any other case where a child may have a disability.
If any of these are true, your child will not be retained. If your child does not meet one of these 6-7 categories that prevents retention, families of students who score “approaching” on the ELA section of the TCAP may also submit an appeal that demonstrates how their child has demonstrated proficiency in reading. Appeals must be submitted by parents/legal guardians.
3. How does the new law impact LEA and public charter school decisions on the promotion and retention of students?
While promotion and retention decisions generally are determined by the LEA or public charter school in accordance with the State Board of Education and local promotion and retention policies, the new law requires that, beginning with the 2022-23 school year, a 3rd grade student, determined NOT to be proficient in ELA, may not be promoted to the next grade level, without certain conditions being met, which could include the student receiving additional interventions in reading.
4. Who determines whether an individual student meets one of the circumstances provided in question #2?
LEAs and public charter schools must determine whether an individual student meets one of the circumstances that exempts the student from retention. All decisions regarding exemptions must be made on a case-by-case basis considering the unique needs and circumstances of the individual student and documented in the student’s file.
5. Why is it not possible for the Tennessee Department of Education (department) to determine which students have a disability or a “suspected disability” at the state level?
As provided in question #4 above, all decisions as to whether a student has a disability or a “suspected disability” must be made on a case-by-case basis considering the unique needs and circumstances of the individual student. This is consistent with state and federal law regarding the appropriate party for such decisions.
Most of the exemption decisions will be easily and quickly determined by an LEA or public charter school based on the student’s records, but some will require a more in-depth analysis that will need to include conversations among parents and local educators with knowledge of the student after a review all of the individual student’s records. For example, the determination of whether a student has a disability or a suspected disability that impacts reading must be determined locally by parents and educators with knowledge of the student, just like the development of IEPs, Section 504 plans, or other supports designed for students by an LEA. The department does not have the information about individual students to make those decisions.
6. Should a student identified as having the characteristics of dyslexia always be deemed to have a “suspected disability” for purposes of being exempt from the retention requirement in the law?
No. A student identified as having the characteristics of dyslexia could, based on the unique needs and circumstances of the student, be considered to have a “suspected disability” but that may not always be true.
For example, a student who has been identified as having the characteristics of dyslexia, may have already been evaluated by the LEA under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and been deemed to not have a disability due to a lack of adverse impact on the student’s educational performance requiring specialized education provided pursuant to an IEP or Section 504 Plan. Similarly, after a review of a student’s RTI data pursuant to the State Board of Education’s rule, policies and department procedures regarding the ILP-D process,
an LEA could determine that services under an ILP-D are all that is needed to improve the student’s reading proficiency.
7. Would it be appropriate to deem all students identified as having the characteristics of dyslexia as having a “suspected disability?”
That action would not be accurate or in the best interest of students. It would not take into account the range and level of issues that have contributed to a student’s reading proficiency and the need to differentiate instructional supports based on those unique issues and needs. It is also important not to over-identify students as having a “suspected disability” simply because they need additional supports in reading as many students do. The goal of the new law is to identify students who have a deficiency in reading that is not caused by a disability or lack of acquired English language skills and to provide those students with additional general supports to improve their reading proficiency before
they are promoted to the next grade. A student with a disability, a suspected disability, or a student who is an English language learner may require special education and other unique supports and services to address their disability or lack of English language skills as required under state and federal law.
8. Is there an appeal procedure available for a 3rd grade student who has been determined to not be proficient in ELA and therefore may not be promoted to the next grade level without meeting one of the conditions listed in question #4?
Yes, for students who have achieved the performance level of “approaching” on the ELA portion of the TCAP. Pursuant to T.C.A. § 49-6-3115(d), the State Board of Education promulgated rules to establish an appeals process, to be administered by the department, for a student who is identified for retention in 3rd grade based on the student’s achieving a performance level rating of “approaching” on the ELA portion of the student’s most recent TCAP test. The law and subsequent rules require that if an appeal is filed, the filing must be made by the student’s parent or guardian.
9. How does an LEA make a promotion decision for a 3rd grade student who does not have a score on the ELA portion of the TCAP?
Based on the language of T.C.A. § 49-6-3115 (a), if a 3rd grade student does not take the TCAP or generate a score on the ELA portion of the TCAP and does not qualify for an exemption described in question #2 above, the student should be treated as if the student is not proficient in ELA. The law states, “Beginning with the 2022-2023 school year, a student in the 3rd grade shall not be promoted to the next grade level unless the student is determined to be proficient in English language arts (ELA) based on the student’s achieving a performance level rating of “on track” or “mastered” on the ELA portion of the student’s most recent Tennessee comprehensive assessment program (TCAP) test.” To be promoted, the student would have to meet one of the conditions provided in question #2 above or if applicable, appeal the decision pursuant to question # 8 above.
10. If a student elects to attend a learning loss bridge camp as a condition to being promoted to 4th grade and does not attend at least 90% of the days of the camp, will they automatically be retained?
The law requires a student to maintain a 90% attendance rate at the camp as a condition of being promoted to the next grade. So, unless the student meets one of the other conditions to be promoted, as listed in question #2 above, the student would have to be retained.
However, the law does not prevent LEAs and public charter schools from developing local board policies to provide opportunities for students to make up camp days missed as long as the days made up are properly documented. An LEA or public charter school must have a clear policy in place that requires students to meet any missed days in the summer.
11. What is the Tennessee Department of Education’s role in implementing this new law?
The department’s specific role in implementing this law is limited to reviewing appeals in accordance with the State Board of Education rule and providing a report to the General Assembly. The department will focus on providing technical assistance to LEAs and public charter schools on the interventions that improve a student’s reading proficiency while also allowing the student to meet the conditions for promotion listed in question #2.
The goal or mission of this new law is not to retain students. It is to provide every student with the necessary interventions to improve the student’s reading proficiency as soon as possible. The department is confident that LEAs and public charter schools will be laser-focused on that mission.
12. What does the TCAP retake entail and when will it be available?
The TCAP retake assessment will be multiple choice/multiple choice select to allow for immediate scoring of the assessment. It will be administered on a computer and pre-equated, to allow for a scale score to be produced for the LEA within two (2) business days. The retake window will take place between May 30 and June 5th, to provide students the opportunity to retest before the full start of summer programming.
13. What information is available regarding the pre-test and post-tests for summer programming?
The TCAP will serve as the “pre-test” for summer programming. The “post-test” will be comprised of TCAP-aligned items and is designed to take less than one hour to complete. The assessment will be administered online and will allow for accommodations.
14. How will adequate growth be measured for summer programming?
The Adequate Growth Measure will be determined based on growth between the “pre-test” and the “post-test.” The calculation of what constitutes adequate growth will be determined annually using a standard psychometric process, as is also done with the TCAP. The calculations will be reviewed by the department’s Technical Advisory Committee (a group of national assessment experts and psychometricians who also provide feedback and consultation on the state assessment).
From: The Tennessee Department of Education
Andrew Johnson Tower, 9th Floor
710 James Robertson Parkway
Nashville, TN 37243
Tennessee Department of Education
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