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The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic led to major concerns about how many Franklin County students would have to repeat the third grade, but after adhering to stop-gap measures, the number being held back is no worse than with any other class in the system.

Kim Tucker, Franklin County’s elementary supervisor of curriculum and instruction, updated the School Board on Aug. 14 about the local status of the third-grade retention law.

The law, passed in 2021, took effect for the 2022-23 academic year’s third-graders. It hinges on scores for the English language arts section of the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program test, also known as TNReady. Third-graders who scored as “below” or “approaching” proficiency in that section have been facing retention if additional steps were not taken to improve their reading ability.

State law required third-graders who scored less than “met” or “exceeded expectations” on TNReady tests to attend a summer reading camp or tutoring program or repeat the grade.

Tucker said that of the system’s 381 third-grade students, 10 were retained at the request of their parents, and 57 had either been classed as special-education students, had been previously retained or had moved out of the school system.

She said 133 of the students were listed as being proficient with 26 retaking and passing the proficiency test and another 38 being advanced to the fourth grade through an appeals process and being allowed exemptions due to certain conditions, such as a language barrier or special-education learning disadvantages.

Tucker said that 18 students were involved in a summer learning program, and 116 were allowed to advance to the fourth grade and will receive tutoring this year. She added that the latter category must show adequate growth on the fourth-grade TNReady exam to be promoted to the fifth grade.

“All of our students had a method to move on to the fourth grade,” Tucker said. “At the end of the day, I feel good about where we are.”

She reflected back on the pandemic and how it interrupted the education process.

“It was a high-stress time, but we survived it,” Tucker said.

She said recently that 87 percent of Franklin County third-graders were eligible for promotion without being required to attend summer camp. She added that the district has been providing free resources and working with all third-grade parents to ensure students advance to fourth grade by choosing one of the intervention paths being offered.

Tucker had said she was optimistic most of the third-graders would be promoted into the fourth grade.

She said the past year’s third-graders were in kindergarten when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, effectively removing them from a normal classroom environment and putting them at a great learning disadvantage.

She added that the 2022-23 academic year was the first year where they spent most of their time in a classroom setting, and many struggled academically to catch up.

“Those kindergarten children also had no formal education when they were in the first grade, and they were spotty at best,” Tucker had said. “In the second grade, they were still spotty. Now, this is the first time they’ve had a pretty good dose of school, but it’s been spotty for them over the course of their entire time in school.”