2016-17 TCAP Announcement from TN Department of Education
July 14, 2016
Please note: This article was originally published on 7/14/2016. Information and/or dates from past events may be not be relevant for the current school year.
The Tennessee Department of Education has announced some changes to state assessments under the TCAP umbrella for the 2016-17 school year. As in previous years, students in Tennessee will continue to take the TCAP, but there will be a reduction in testing time this year. The state has eliminated Part I of the TCAP, so all TCAP tests will be administered in one assessment window at the end of the year.
This year’s assessment, which has been designed and reviewed in partnership with Tennessee educators, keeps the same goals of focusing on real-world skills, including critical thinking, writing, and problem solving, but has greatly improved logistics and a reduction in testing time. TCAP tests will have a variety of questions ranging from traditional multiple-choice questions to ones that require students to explain their answers, show their work, and compose well-organized essays.
This improved test measures how well your child has mastered the skills and content at his or her grade level and will serve the same goal as previous years: to ensure that students are on track for the next step in their educational path.
With this assessment, parents will receive a detailed report, where each subject will be broken down into categories of skills to show where a student is doing well or needs some extra help. Teachers and parents can use this information to provide more focused support for students.
As a district, we will continue to keep you informed of the way students will be impacted by these changes to assessments. For more information from the district, head over to the Testing and Assessments page under Students & Parents -> Student Links or use the following direct link: https://www.cmcss.net/students/testing.aspx . This page will continue to be updated throughout the school year with important dates and new information so please check back with us periodically.
For more information on this update from the state, go to https://www.tn.gov/education/section/assessment