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Nearly 45% of Tennessee third graders met or exceeded expectations on the state’s reading assessment this year, but those early literacy gains fade as students advance through middle school.
Preliminary data from 2025-26 Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program showed steady progress in third grade English language arts, with 44.9% of students meeting or exceeding expectations, up from 41.7% last year.
That’s the highest proficiency level in nearly a decade, and a 9.2 percentage point increase since 2022, when Tennessee implemented a controversial reading law requiring significant interventions or retention for students who underperform on the TCAP ELA assessment.
On average, though, proficiency rates were lower through the end of middle school. Overall, 40.6% of students in grades 3-8 met proficiency standards on the TCAP ELA tests, while less than one in three eighth graders met standards this year.
A Tennessee SCORE analysis found that year over year, student cohorts lost reading and math proficiency as they advanced through middle school, even as third grade results continued to climb from pandemic-era lows.
Each middle school class this year scored lower than it did in 2025, with particularly large declines between sixth and seventh grade.
State data shows students are losing reading proficiency even before they reach middle school. About 40% of this year’s sixth graders met or exceeded expectations in ELA. Two years earlier, about 46% of that same cohort met or exceeded expectations as fourth graders.
Large achievement gaps also remain for historically underserved students. Despite years of improving test scores across the state, students from low income families continue to score well below, and the gap between the two groups has not improved over time. peers from higher income families.
Still, Tennessee has made overall year-over-year gains beyond reading. About 43% of students in grades 3-8 scored proficient on TCAP math tests. And for the first time, a majority of students met or exceeded expectations on the state’s social studies assessments.
“I am very proud of our gains in student achievement, highlighting our success in implementing strategies that elevate learning across all grades and subjects. This continued progress ensures every Tennessee student has the opportunity to succeed,” Tennessee Commissioner of Education Lizzette Reynolds said.
In addition to factoring into retention decisions for students, TCAP scores weigh significantly in the state’s school funding formula. Tennessee uses proficiency rates on these tests to help determine school letter grades later in the year.
The Tennessee Department of Education is expected to release school-specific results later this year.
Melissa Brown is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact Melissa at mbrown@chalkbeat.org.
