All public school students in Tennessee take the same standardized tests, the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP). In 2016, the state introduced a new online testing program called TNReady, which was apparently not quite ready for prime time, because testing had to be canceled midway through the session for students in grades 3-8 due to technical difficulties. For that reason, there are no good 2016 test scores available to look at for those grades. For more on the state’s plans for the future, visit their website.
Test scores can be helpful as you’re trying to compare schools, but they can also be misleading, so it pays to invest a little time in understanding what the two basic test score types – Achievement and Growth – represent.