DANDRIDGE, Tenn. — Schools across East Tennessee are getting their unofficial TCAP results on Friday. Next week, parents are expected to find out whether their third-graders need extra tutoring to prepare for the fourth grade.
In Jefferson County, school leaders hired 24 positions working daily dedicated to tutoring rising fourth graders for free.
Jefferson County got those test results back Friday afternoon, but the district has been preparing for this moment for two school years. It hired retired teachers to tutor students and make sure they are getting the individual learning skills they need to move forward.
"We are ready for this and we kind of used this as a prep year," said Trevor Collins with Jefferson County Schools. "We've kind of taken a very proactive approach to addressing tutoring as a whole."
Tennessee third graders who don't reach proficiency on reading TCAP tests risk repeating the grade. Jefferson County School officials said tutors served 200 third-graders last year and 200 fourth-graders this year.
"We also added before-school and after-school tutoring with our certified teachers to do additional numbers of students throughout the year," Collins said.
All Corps facilitator Debbie Webster said the tutors use the test results to determine which skills the student needs, but they will continue tutoring all the students the schools have the capacity for.
"At the beginning look at the test results. We determine a schedule for the tutors for the year, who they will be working with, how many classes of each grade," Webster said. "That's what I like about it because we served over 800 students this year in math and language arts together. You get to help that many students, when do you get to do that?"
Jeanette Woods has more than 40 years of teaching experience and now tutors students.
"Where I am now, I've made a complete circle because I was there at one time as a regular teacher," she said. "You look at what each child needs, their skills. you can do it as a group of three or individualized ... They enjoy it. They love the i-Ready program, so I think it's really wonderful."
Jefferson County School officials said parents can expect those results Monday. Students who don't pass in Jefferson County can retake the test at their school on May 30 and May 31.