Parents, teachers, and students focus on Tennessee's third-grade retention policy as the school year ends. Tennessee has roughly 75,000 third-graders; since 2010, the state has retained approximately 1% of them. In 2023, we retained 1.2%, and in 2024, we retained 0.88%. The primary trigger for retention is a student's performance on the ELA (English Language Arts) portion of the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP). The data is scheduled to be released on May 20, 2025.  

• Certain students, including those with disabilities and English learners, may be exempt from retention.
• Students scoring "approaching" or "below" can advance to fourth grade by retaking the ELA TCAP and meeting proficiency, attending summer school with adequate growth, or receiving tutoring.
• Those scoring "approaching" must demonstrate adequate growth on a post-test after summer programs for promotion.
• Parents can appeal retention decisions to the Tennessee Department of Education.

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To learn more about how the new law will affect students in Tennessee, Rutherford County, and the Tennessee Department of Education has provided a Frequently Asked Questions webpage for parents, which is available HERE.