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2021 Tennessee Code
Title 49 - Education
Chapter 1 - State Administration
Part 2 - Department of Education
§ 49-1-228. School Grading System — State Report Card — Implementation — Notice

Universal Citation: TN Code § 49-1-228 (2021)
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  1. The department of education shall develop a school grading system that annually assigns A, B, C, D, and F letter grades to schools based on:

    1. Student performance on the Tennessee comprehensive assessment program (TCAP) tests or end-of-course exams;

    2. Student growth as indicated by Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS) data or data from other measures of student growth; and

    3. Other outcome indicators of student achievement that the department finds to be reliable measures of school performance.

  2. The department of education shall include each school's A, B, C, D, or F grade on the state report card.

  3. Implementation of the school grading system shall begin in the 2017-2018 school year; provided, however, prior to implementation, the state board shall review the grading scale developed by the department.

  4. The department shall provide notice of the adopted grading scale to each LEA prior to the start of the 2017-2018 school year.

  5. Notwithstanding subsection (a), student performance and student growth data from the TNReady assessments administered in the 2017-2018 school year shall not be used to assign a letter grade to a school pursuant to this section.

  6. Notwithstanding subsections (a)-(c), student performance and student growth data from the Tennessee comprehensive assessment program (TCAP) tests, which include, but are not limited to, TNReady assessments, English learner assessments, alternate TCAP assessments, and end-of-course examinations, administered in the 2019-2020 school year shall not be used to assign a letter grade to a school, unless the use results in a higher letter grade for the school.


    1. If eighty percent (80%) or more of an LEA's or public charter school's students enrolled in grades three through twelve (3-12) participate in the Tennessee comprehensive assessment program (TCAP) tests administered in the 2020-2021 school year, then, notwithstanding subsections (a)-(c), student performance and student growth data generated from the TCAP tests administered in the 2020-2021 school year shall not be used to assign a letter grade to a school.

    2. The commissioner of education may, at the commissioner's discretion, grant an LEA or public charter school a waiver from the eighty-percent-participation requirement in subdivision (g)(1).

  8. The department shall not issue letter grades or any other summative ratings for schools eligible for the accountability protections in subdivision (g)(1) or schools that receive a waiver from the commissioner pursuant to subdivision (g)(2) in the state report card for the 2020-2021 school year; provided, that the department shall provide student performance and student growth data to LEAs, and as required by federal law.
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