Kirk Kelly is the director of testing and accountability for the Hamilton County School system.
Staff File PhotoStandardized tests have put pressure on teachers, school districts and states for years. But this year, some of that pressure is on the backs of Tennessee students.
New legislation requires schools to factor test results into students’ grades. While it’s been a long-standing practice for high school students, this is the first year the tests have counted for elementary students, who take assessments in grades four through eight.
Educators have tried to raise student test scores since the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act and its stringent benchmarks were implemented. Now students are sharing some of that burden.
“Now everybody’s involved and everybody’s got a stake,” said Kirk Kelly, director of accountability and testing for Hamilton County Schools. “They’ve always had a personal stake, but now it’s going to impact them in some way.”
In the past, end-of-course exams have counted for 20 percent of a student’s grade in each tested course. This year, that percentage increases to 25 percent of a student’s second-semester grade when high schoolers take their exams in early May. Results for third- through eighth-graders, who took tests this week, will count as 15 percent of a second-semester grade.