TCAPs have started. Here's how Memphis schools have prepared and what parents should know

On Friday morning at Hawkins Mills Elementary, third-grade students played Jeopardy in their English Language Arts class. In many ways, it was a standard version of the famous game show. Questions were displayed on a blue screen, and correct answers were worth 100 to 500 points.

But unlike most Jeopardy rounds, it was focused on test-taking tips, and the four categories reflected this theme:

• Before a test

• Multiple Choice Strategies

• Test Strategies

• Mental/Physical Preparation

When a student was called on, he picked “multiple choice strategies for 100,” and read the question:

“If you finish your test with time to spare, you should turn it in. True or false?”

He said “true,” and the teacher, Amanda Johnson, gently corrected him. If someone had time to spare, she explained, they should double-check their answers.

Johnson’s Jeopardy game was a final form of preparation for her class before a major evaluation. On Monday, students throughout the state started taking the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) tests. And for most students and teachers ― as well as district leaders ― it’s the most consequential test of the year.

Why are the TCAP tests important?

Third through fifth graders are taking TCAP tests from April 15 to 30, while sixth through twelfth graders are set to take them from April 15 to May 3. Students take the assessments in a variety of subjects, and the stakes are high.

TCAP scores measure not just the academic growth and performance of students, but the growth and performances of their schools and school districts. They play a major role in determining the letter grades schools receive from the Tennessee Department of Education, and the designations their districts receive.

In some cases, they can even determine whether a student is held back or able to move on to the next grade.

Memphis-Shelby County Schools has seen its overall TCAP scores rise for two consecutive years. When compared to 2022, the percentage of third-to-twelfth-grade students who met or exceeded expectations in 2023 increased in 10 out of 11 categories. Students showed improvement in math and science across every grade level, and the English Language Arts proficiency rate ― which already surpassed pre-pandemic levels in 2022 ― increased again last year.

Still, MSCS’ TCAP scores remain significantly behind state averages, and district leaders want them to continue rising. Third-grade literacy has been a particularly high-profile area of focus, and for good reason.

The retention law

In 2023, a statewide law focused on third-grade reading rates took effect. It stipulated that third graders who didn’t earn a proficient score on the ELA portion of TCAP tests would be held back if interventive measures weren’t taken.

Students who earn an “approaching” score ― the category just beneath proficiency ― had to attend summer classes and show 5% improvement on a posttest to move forward. If they didn’t meet that mark, they could still go to the fourth grade, but they would be expected to receive year-round tutoring. And students who earned a “below” score ― the bottom category ― had to attend summer school and agree to year-round tutoring to move on to fourth grade.

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Last year, 23.5% of third graders in MSCS and 40% of third graders in Tennessee scored proficiently, which meant that roughly 44,000 of the state’s third graders were at risk of being retained. Ultimately, just 898 third graders were held back, thanks to the tutoring options and other exemptions.

But the hope is that the number of third graders earning a proficient mark on the literacy section continues to rise, and the goal, this school year, is for 29% of the district's third graders to reach proficiency in ELA. By 2030, MSCS wants that percentage to be 52%, and it has looked to boost student results through strategies like high-dosage tutoring.

Throughout the year, improving TCAP scores has been a major focus. And this is evident at Hawkins Mills.

Hawkins Mills' success

Located in Frayser, Hawkins Mills was floundering just a few years ago.

After the COVID-19 pandemic upended the learning process, its TCAP scores plummeted, and in the 2020-21 academic year, only 4% of its third-through-fifth grade students earned proficient scores on the standardized tests. Hawkins Mills was on the state’s priority list, which included consistently low-performing schools that scored among the bottom 5% on the state's standardized tests or had low graduation rates.

But since then, Hawkins Mills’ fortunes have changed. Its TCAP scores improved, with the number of students earning proficient scores rising to about 11% in 2021-22, and jumping to 21% last year. No longer on the priority list, it has instead been named a “reward” school by the state for two years in a row, thanks to its sterling levels of academic improvement.

Now, Hawkins Mills has set its sights on again raising its overall proficiency rates, this time to about 30%. The hope is for the specific third-grade ELA rate to also grow to 30% or 31%. Last year, the rate for third-grade ELA students at Hawkins Mills was about 27%.

If some third graders do end up having to attend summer classes or be held back, the news won’t necessarily come as a shock. Teachers at Hawkins Mills explain the law to parents and keep them abreast of their children’s performances in a variety of ways throughout the year.

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“If the case does happen, where a student is retained for whatever reason, I'm pretty sure that's a conversation that we are already prepared for because we understand how the data is looking,” principal Claude Wilson told members of the media Friday. “When [students] have been trending in a certain direction, [parents] understand that.”

The students, too, are updated on how they’re doing throughout the year, and how they could perform on TCAP tests ― which motivates them to continue getting better.

“We, as teachers, look at the data. But I want the students to see it, so they can know where they are, so they can know where they need to be,” Johnson said. “I also let them know the law. I flat out tell you, ‘If you do this, the way I tell you to do it, then you're going to pass a third grade. But if you do not, you will be retained, and I don't want it.' So, I kind of motivate them all the time. And that motivation pushes them. They try to be better every time.”

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: TCAP tests have started in Memphis. Here's what to know about them