About the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP)

State Testing Information for Tennessee

Portions of the following material were taken from the Tennessee Department of Education website. Please see our links and source sections at the bottom of the page for more details and references.

General Description of the Tests

Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) Achievement Test

• Grades: 3-8
• Subjects: Reading, Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies
• Criterion-Referenced items measure a student's performance according to specific standards, rather than to the performance of other test takers
• Some schools choose to administer the Achievement Test to students in Kindergarten and Grades 1 and 2.
• The results of the TCAP Achievement Test provide valuable information regarding student's progress in Tennessee.

Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) Writing Assessment

• Grade 5 - narrative essay (a story)
• Grade 8 - expository essay (an explanation)
• Grade 11 - persuasive essay (an argument)
• Requires students to write a rough draft essay in response to an assigned prompt (topic) within a limited time period
• Students are expected to respond to the prompt in an organized, developed format using standard language, but the response is not expected to be a final polished essay.

Tennessee's Alternate Assessments include:

• The TCAP Alternate Portfolio Assessment (TCAP-Alt PA)
• A state-wide assessment for students in grades 3 - 8 based on Modified Academic Achievement Standards (TCAP MAAS)
• The Alternative Performance-Based Assessments for students with an active IEP whose disability interferes with performance on an End of Course Assessment

National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)

• Grades: 4, 8, 12
• Subjects: Mathematics, Reading, Science
• Provides important information on what America’s students know and can do in various subject areas

Our curriculum is focused around actual material that a student is likely to see on the upcoming Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) test. Nationally known for delivering high quality and affordable materials that help students improve their scores, we provide you both paper-based instruction and easy to use online test preparation.