As predicted, 60% of Tennessee third-graders — including 55% of Kingsport third-graders — failed to meet reading requirements to move on to fourth grade this fall. And yet, the Tennessee Department of Education says these third-graders made “historic gains” in reading.

Statewide, only 40% of third-graders scored “proficient” in reading and may begin fourth grade this fall. Of the 60% who failed to achieve proficiency, 35% “approached expectations” and 25% were “below expectations.” In other words, some failed worse than others, as if that matters.

So why does the state call this “historic” improvement? Because the 40% who passed represent a 4.3 percentage point increase from those who passed last year. That’s not much to crow about when six out of 10 third-graders statewide have failed to demonstrate that they’re ready for fourth grade.

Locally, Johnson City did the best job of teaching. Sixty-five percent of Johnson City’s third-grade students passed, as did 49.1% of Washington County students. Slightly more than half of Bristol’s third-graders, 50.7%, will move on to fourth grade.

Only 45.4% of Kingsport third-graders read proficiently; in Sullivan County it’s 38.2%. Rogersville City Schools only managed to pass 35.5% of third-graders, and Hawkins County, but 32.3%.

These numbers will change because the state allows “exemptions” to some of those who failed. Exemptions are granted for children who have learning disabilities, and there are grounds for appeals that may include a traumatic event in a child’s life such as perhaps an illness of the child or a relative, or an incarceration or death in the family.

But if the child doesn’t know how to read well enough to pass, what difference will an exemption make?

Students have time to retake the test, but about half of Tennessee’s third-grade students must either face summer school or a tutoring program to be considered for fourth grade — all of this from a law passed two years ago in the midst of a pandemic when schools were closed and children were subjected to distance learning, a huge failure. The law went into effect this school year, and it was immediately clear that there would be significant reading failures.

Districts asked state lawmakers to repeal the law. They refused, handing the Democratic minority plenty of ammunition to attack the Republican majority, to wit: “The passage of this law resulting in thousands of third-graders repeating the third grade or attending summer school as a result of a single TCAP ELA score is yet another example of the inherent dangers of one-party rule in our state. Local school officials and parents foresaw the impending disastrous effects of this law and formally asked the state to take corrective action. Gov. Lee and the GOP supermajority outright ignored these pleas.”

What to do? Either call the legislature back into session as quickly as possible and repeal the law, or simply hope for the best. But this is not a failure of students, or parents. It is a failure of government, which controls education. We want our children to be properly educated, but the system must compensate for the unexpected, as in a pandemic.

Third-graders should not be held back a full year of their education based only on one test in one subject, but promoted to fourth grade where a special emphasis can be placed on catching them up on their reading skills.

Even if it takes several years, that’s better than taking a year away from them through no fault of their own.

-The Kingsport Times News