The Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program is the standardized testing program used in public schools in Tennessee.
Tennessee schools administer a comprehensive exam to their students at the end of each school year beginning in the third grade. Tests are intended to reflect what each child learned in the past year of school. The tested areas include reading, language arts, math, science, and social studies. The TCAP currently includes the Achievement Test (grades 3-8), the Writing Test, the Competency Test, the Gateway Tests and the End of Course Tests. The scores are returned at the beginning of the next school year and these scores help schools make instructional decisions. Special education and limited-English proficiency students are included in the testing and may be accommodated with modifications. This test was previously known as the Terra Nova test.
The current program was influenced by the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
In 2010, a linking study will be performed so that the TCAP can report out Lexile measures for students in grades 3-8 and 10.[1] A Lexile measure can be used to match readers with targeted text and monitor growth in reading ability.