The Transition to College and Career Ready Assessments:
As Tennessee prepared for the transition to new assessments, expected to be implemented in the 2014-15 school
year, the Tennessee Department of Education provided
schools the opportunity to pilot assessments that reflected
the rigor and content of college and career ready tests. The
following tables illustrate the assessments the state offered
during the 2013-14 school year. Table 1 outlines required
assessments, while Table 2 outlines assessments that were
optional, allowing schools and districts to determine which
assessments would be most helpful to improving instruction and learning in their classrooms.
Required Assessments
ASSESSMENT
WHAT DOES IT ASSESS?
HOW IS IT USED?
TCAP Achievement
Test
The TCAP Achievement test is required for students in
grades 3-8. It is a timed, multiple-choice assessment
that measures student skills in math, reading, language
arts, science, and social studies.29
The TCAP assessment is used to measure student progress
on Tennessee’s State Standards. Data from this assessment
is used to better understand student needs, to measure
teaching effectiveness, to determine reward and priority
schools, and to inform school improvement efforts.30
High School End of
Course
High school end of course examinations are given in
English I, English II, English III, Algebra I, Algebra II, U.S.
History, Biology I, and Chemistry.31
The results from these assessments account for 25 percent
of students’ final grades in these subjects. Additionally,
data from these assessments are used to measure
teaching effectiveness, to determine reward and priority
schools, and to inform school improvement efforts.32
Social Studies
Assessment
The State Board of Education approved new social studies
standards in July 2014. These standards were piloted in
2013-14 and are being implemented in 2014-15.33 For this
reason, in January 2014 the State Board approved a plan
for transitioning to a new social studies assessment that
would align wi \