TCAP testing begins Monday. For Tennessee third graders and their families, the standardized test comes with a lot of pressure.
If they don’t do well enough on the English language arts portion of the exam, students are required to attend summer learning programs, enroll in tutoring or both under a state law passed in 2021. They can also be held back, or retained from starting fourth grade with their classmates.
Critics of the third grade retention law have said that the test isn’t focused enough, and that the law unfairly penalizes kids who don’t do well…