MARYVILLE, Tenn. — Christmas break is over and students are headed back to school.
A new class of third graders is now getting ready for the TCAP test with Tennessee's third-grade retention law in effect.
Foothills Elementary English teacher Emily Jackson uses several techniques to help her students prepare for the TCAP.
"I want to create a love for reading and I think that will serve them for the rest of their lives," Jackson said. "My biggest hope has nothing to do with testing. My greatest hope for my students and they should know this is that they will become wild readers."
The teaching is engaging and fun, Jackson said, but it's also deep and intended to push the child to reach a mastery level.
Jessie Giles is one of Jackson's third graders. She said the TCAP was already a lot of work in second grade.
"It felt like there was not enough time to prepare," Giles said. "But I still got to move on. I got a good enough grade. But it was hard."
Tennessee law now requires third graders to pass the TCAP test to move on to the fourth grade and Jessie's mom Kristy Weekley said at first, she was nervous.
"But Foothills has done a really good job of making the kids feel comfortable. They practice a lot. They take brain breaks," Weekley said. "You're getting a good standard of, you know, how is my child doing in comparison with everyone else. But, there are a lot of factors that are not taken into consideration with the TCAP test. Test anxiety is a big one."
Foothills Elementary is one of three schools in Maryville that just received an "A" grade from the Tennessee Department of Education.
The school gathers as much information as possible about the TCAP to let teachers know what to expect, Jackson said, and every class gets the same prep materials. However, it's up to the teachers to find different and creative ways to teach those materials.
"We've studied a lot of things and that will help too," Giles said. "Especially the fun games learning."
The first thing for success is to stay connected with your child's education, Jackson said.
"Then the second thing for success on tests is to read, read, read, read, read at home," Jackson said. "I would say 20 to 30 minutes a day will keep the retention away."
Another tip from Jackson is to make reading more interactive at home.
She said to take turns reading with your child—let them listen to you read for a while and then have them read aloud to you.
With her success in school, Giles dreams of success in life.
"To live in a mansion and make a lot of money," Giles said. "I hope to study cooking and computers like computer hacking."