KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Knox County Board of Education met Wednesday to vote on a resolution asking the state legislature to reconsider a new law that could hold third graders back if they don't perform well on state tests. The resolution passed.
The state law says that if a student doesn't at least "meet expectations" on the standardized English test, they would have to go to summer school or go through tutoring in order to move on to the next grade.
"What are we teaching them if we're saying, 'You don't get to move on with your friends; you're going to be held back,'" said Aubrey Cagle, the mother of a third-grade student. "Are we teaching them that they're not good enough?"
Cagle said she believes children also deserve a break.
"He likes math and science. He thinks scientists are the greatest things," Cagle said.
Cagle said her son scores higher on those subjects, but she said she worries that the third-grade retention law will base her son's future on a single test.
"As any parent standardized testing, we know that that's going to happen," Cagle said. "But for it to be the basis of whether or not a child passes a grade, that's it's a bit extreme to me."
With this law, third-graders will take a standardized test and if they don't pass they will have to go to summer school and/or get a tutor in order to move up to the fourth grade.
John McCook, an Associate Professor of Education and Chair of Graduate Education at Carter and Moyer School of Education, said this law could cause more problems for the state.
"This law as it's written will not work," he said.
He explained that other states such as Texas and Arkansas, have tried this law and it hasn't worked. He said the bigger problem is not individual students, but the effect it would have on schools and teachers to provide resources to get each third-grader to the fourth grade.
"So, if you really want to deal with some things, take a look at how large first-grade classrooms are, and reduce the number of students in first grade," McCook said.
Cagle said her son also goes through some sensory challenges and is already working hard, which is why it's important for her.
"I don't want his drive and his you know, us pushing him for him to think that it's not worth it because of one test," Cagle said.