Tennessee TCAP testing time to increase in 2027 due to new, unscored writing test
The amount of time Tennessee students spend taking state standardized tests next spring will increase significantly due to an additional writing test that won’t actually be scored. Tennessee is adding an unscored field test writing subpart to the English Language Arts…
Tennessee students will undergo a more extensive testing experience in 2027 due to the addition of an unscored writing field test to the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP). The extra test, which will not be scored, will extend the total testing time by over an hour for older students and 40 minutes for younger grades.
This change aims to help create a valid and reliable test by using unscored prompts as trials. While testing companies and administrators often utilize field tests, some Tennessee teachers express concern about the additional testing load at the start of the high-stakes testing window next spring. A Tennessee Department of Education spokesperson stated that the state will continue to field test items as part of constructing valid and reliable tests, providing flexibility to schools with scheduling.
For grades 6 and above, the additional testing time totals 85 minutes in English Language Arts (ELA), bringing the total ELA testing time to 315 minutes. Grades 4 and 5 will experience an extra 80 minutes of testing, with the new field test adding up to 220 minutes of ELA testing for third graders.
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