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Some East TN school districts reveal number of third grade students held back due to TCAP scores

Knox County Schools said around 550 students chose to go through tutoring during the fourth grade.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — School districts in East Tennessee are sharing the number of kids impacted by a new third grade retention law that went into effect last school year.

In Knox County, 32 students were required to repeat the third grade due to poor scores on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program exam. Third grade students who did not at least "meet expectations" on the exam had to either appeal the scores, retake the test, go through summer school, or sign up for tutoring during the fourth grade in order to advance to the next grade.

Knox County Schools said around 550 students chose to go through tutoring during the fourth grade. It said the total number of third graders in the class was around 4,400.

The Sevier County Board of Education said 10 or fewer students would be held back due to the new law. It said most students impacted by it chose to either go through summer school or use tutoring services during the fourth grade.

Oak Ridge Schools said it did not have any students forced to stay back based on their TCAP scores.

"We did have some families that chose retention very early on in the process as they believed an additional year of third grade would be best for their student, but it was not forced retention. Our elementary principals and educators were very proactive in having these conversations with families throughout the year," the school district said.

The school district said it had around 19 students, less than 5% of their total third grade class, that chose to go through tutoring during the upcoming academic year.

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