TCAP tests are stacked on a teacher’s desk.NASHVILLE – Tennessee high school students showed strong improvements in most high school subjects but scores for children in grades 3-8 sometimes flattened and reading even showed a slight dip in several grades on reading.
“I will emphasize: The progress we’ve made is still very very significant, but we’ll use the data to see how we can do better,” Gov. Bill Haslam said as he and Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman released 2013-14 results on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP).
The tests are taken by students in grades 3-8 and also include end-of-course exams for high school students.
The governor and his education commissioner largely focused on the high school results where students made gains on five of seven tests.
In Algebra II, for example, students rated as proficient or advanced grew nearly 6 percentage points over last year and more than 17 percentage points since the state began testing students three years ago. And proficiency among students taking English II gained 4 percentage points.