Literacy and 3rd Grade Retention Law

The Tennessee General Assembly has revised the state’s law regarding the promotion of students from third grade, T.C.A. § 49-6-3115, and requires students who are determined to need additional supports in reading to receive them before being promoted to fourth grade.

Under this requirement, third-grade students who do not reach proficiency (with a score of approaching or below) on the ELA section of the TCAP assessment will have the opportunity to retest.

• If your student did not reach proficiency on the ELA section of the TCAP test, you received a message on Friday, May 19, to sign up for a retake test.
• If your student did not participate in TCAP testing, he/she must participate in the retake test.

Families have until the evening of Sunday, May 21, to sign up for the retake test. Retake testing will take place beginning on May 22 and ending May 24. This is an optional test and not required. 

If students receive a score of “approaching” or “below” on their retake, families will receive a message on May 26 notifying them of next steps. 

If a student's parent/guardian decides to appeal and the appeal is granted, then the student would lose their “priority” status for the summer camp. However, if the district has additional capacity after serving “priority” students, then the student could participate. If a student’s appeal is denied, the student may still use the summer programming pathway and tutoring for the entirety of the fourth-grade pathway to be promoted to the fourth grade. The appeal form will be activated on May 30, as indicated in the promotion timeline.

» FAQ's » Policies » Appeals » Promotion Timeline » 4th Grade Pathways

What Parents Need to Know

The law (TCA 49-6-3115) requires that students who score in the bottom two achievement categories on the literacy component of the 3rd grade TCAP, our state’s annual comprehensive assessment, receive certain supports or be retained in the third grade. Those supports are summer school and/or tutoring.

To meet the expectations of this law, Knox County Schools will be expanding our summer school options for rising fourth graders and expanding our literacy tutoring offerings for fourth grade students in the 2023-24 school year.

Exemptions from the required supports and possible retention

•   English learners who have received less than two years of ELA instruction 
•   A student who was previously retained
•   A student who retests before the next school year and scores proficient in ELA

Note: As KCS currently interprets and understands the law, students with disabilities, reading deficits, and/or suspected reading deficits as defined by a student’s IEP and/or the initiation of an S-Team whose disability or suspected disability are the likely cause of their reading achievement scores, will NOT be retained, regardless of whether or not the student meets TDOE’s threshold.  

When will I know if this applies to my student?

Updated May 20, 2023

New legislation requires third-grade students to demonstrate proficiency on the year-end TCAP assessment in English Language Arts (ELA) before being promoted to the fourth grade. Under this requirement, third-grade students who do not reach proficiency (with a score of approaching or below) on the ELA section of the TCAP assessment will have the opportunity to retest.

• If your student did not reach proficiency on the ELA section of the TCAP test, you received a message on Friday, May 19, to sign up for a retake test.
• If your student did not participate in TCAP testing, he/she must participate in the retake test.

Families have until the evening of Sunday, May 21, to sign up for the retake test. Retake testing will take place beginning on May 22 and ending May 24. This is an optional test and not required. 

If students receive a score of “approaching” or “below” on their retake, families will receive a message on May 26 notifying them of next steps. 

We expect 3rd grade TCAP scores to be returned to the district in late May. We will contact parents with their student’s 3rd grade scores immediately following their release, along with the options for summer school and/or tutoring.

We will use our universal reading screener in November and March, to make our best prediction of whether or not your student is likely to fall into the below or approaching categories on TCAP.

Following the completion of the required supports, the decision on whether or not a student will be retained will be made following the 4th grade TCAP assessment. The law states that a student be retained in 4th grade if they do not make adequate progress on the 4th grade TCAP.

The Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) is required in the law to define adequate progress. TDOE has not yet released that information.

How can you support literacy development at home?

Governor's Early Literacy Foundation - Family Reading Time at Home Guides

Looking for a way to enrich story time with your child? These one-page help sheets provide families with discussion questions, activities, and a helpful book summary – all designed to make reading even more fun!

K-3 Home Learning Toolkit - Developmental Themes, Suggested Books & Activities

Practice makes reading and writing easier, and this list of family-friendly activities will help support literacy development at home.

Reading 360 - Family Reading Resources

Students can learn a lot about reading from their families. This flyer provides activities to promote the sounds-first approach to reading, to model positive reading behaviors, and to support struggling readers.

KCS Summer Scholars Guide

The KCS Summer Scholars Guide is a resource for grades K-8 families to minimize summer learning loss and prepare for the upcoming school year. These optional activities help students maintain and expand their academic growth over the summer, with review material from the previous year and academic goals for the upcoming year. It also includes a list of reading topics and suggested educational websites.

Starting with Sounds

In collaboration with Tennessee’s six PBS stations, the Tennessee Department of Education created “Starting with Sounds” to highlight the importance of early literacy and how families and students can practice reading.

Literacy Foundational Skills Online Tool

Practice makes reading and writing easier, and this list of family-friendly activities will help support literacy development at home.