Testing Window Extended for Districts that Need Additional Time Following Winter Storm Fern

Stock image of students in a classroom (Photo by Unsplash)

The Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) confirmed to the Tennessee Firefly that it is providing testing flexibility for school districts that need it following Winter Storm Fern.

Multiple districts, including Metro Nashville Public Schools, remained closed for more than a week following the storm due to transportation and power disruptions. Memphis-Shelby County Schools closed for 10 days.

The closures brought calls to extend the state’s annual testing window for districts that struggled to maintain consistent instruction time. Each year, elementary and middle school students take the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) and high school students take end-of-course (EOC) assessments during a mid-April to early May testing window.

As part of that schedule, students were supposed to complete the TCAP English language arts and the English EOC during the first testing week, beginning April 13. A TDOE spokesperson confirmed that those tests can now be completed by April 24.

Flexibility for Other Subjects

The department is additionally providing flexibility for other tested subjects.

High school students take end-of-course assessments in a variety of subjects beyond English. The state has extended the deadline to complete those tested subjects from May 5 to May 8.

Similarly, middle school students take TCAP tests in science, math, and social studies, in addition to ELA. Their testing window has been extended from May 5 to May 8 for districts that need additional time.

Elementary school students have until May 6 to complete their non-ELA TCAP assessments. The initial window deadline was May 1.