Tennessee might expand on its third grade retention law, something that got a lot of pushback from parents and teachers last school year.

This proposal would create a higher bar for the math section of TCAP, and it might get more support from teachers.

“If you can’t read and do math on grade level, how are you going to be successful in this world,” District 64 Rep. Scott Cepicky said.

The bill being drafted would require students in kindergarten through eighth grade to either go to summer school, or get a tutor if they miss the benchmark on the math section of TCAP. They would not be required to repeat a grade, which is different than the third grade retention law.

“So those are two good things that I think teachers would support,” President of Professional Educators of Tennessee, JC Bowman, said.

Bowman said math scores have fallen off since COVID, and haven’t recovered. He believed the bill could be a good thing for students.

“If the availability of a tutor is there in the school, I mean we would want that,” Bowman said. “And if the state’s going to pick up the tab and pay for it, absolutely I think it’s a good deal.”

The third grade retention law got a lot of pushback last school year, since 60% of third-graders in the state did not score high enough on the English section of TCAP, threatening their fourth grade eligibility. By comparison, 66% of all grade levels did not pass the math section.

However, not everyone is on board with the proposal.

“But as far as punishing children for how well they do on a test, I think that’s absolutely absurd,” District 4 Representative of the Knox County Schools Board of Education, Katherine Bike, said.

Bike is also a mom to a KCS elementary school student. She thinks teachers should have more say in passing a child.

“TCAP can be used as a tool to show what interventions need to be put in place for children, and where needs are,” she said.

Bike said the state would be better off addressing the teacher shortage. Knox County Schools is offering $5,000 signing bonuses for math teachers, and $7,000 for special education.

The bill is being drafted, and is expected to be talked about during session, beginning in January. (Story courtesy of WVLT)