The annual release of the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) results provides a clear measure of student progress across the state. This year’s results show that Tennessee’s sustained focus on high expectations, student-centered policies, and strong implementation is producing meaningful academic progress. Across key grades and subjects, more students are reaching proficiency, continuing a steady upward trend. Even so, the data make clear that significant gaps remain.
At SCORE, we believe data should drive action. We analyzed this year’s results and identified five key takeaways that highlight where Tennessee is making gains and where focused effort is still needed.
Students show consistent gains across all core subjects in grades 3-8
- Overall proficiency rates in ELA increased to 40.6% in 2026. This growth represents roughly 7,600 additional students becoming proficient this year compared to last.
- Black student ELA proficiency in grades 3-8 grew by 6.4 percentage points, the highest of all racial and ethnic student groups. However, still only a quarter (25.9%) of Black students in grades 3-8 are proficient in ELA.
- Proficiency rates in fourth-grade math increased by 3.6 percentage points, up to 49.4%.
- The majority of Tennessee students in grades 3-8 (51.4%) are now proficient in grade social studies.
Proficiency gaps continue for economically disadvantaged (ED) students
- The gap between ED and non-ED student proficiency has not closed over the last five years — remaining essentially the same in ELA and slightly increasing in math.
- In ELA, ED students were twice as likely to be in the lowest performance category compared to their non-ED peers (33.3% compared to 16.6%).
- In math, ED students were three times less likely to be in the highest performance category compared to their non-ED peers (4.7% compared to 17.5%).
State-level policies and investments in early-grades literacy are paying off
- In 2026, 44.9% of third-grade students reached proficiency, up 3.2 percentage points from 2025 and 9.2 percentage points since 2022 — the first year of implementation for the Tennessee Literacy Success Act.
- In 2026, 47.4% of fourth-grade students reached proficiency. In the previous year, when those same students were in third-grade, only 41.7% reached proficiency. This represents a 5.7 percentage point increase year-over-year for that cohort of students.
Middle school growth is inconsistent
- Student proficiency gains that occur in elementary school are being lost as students move through middle school.
- In 2026, in ELA and math (except for fifth-grade math), each middle school cohort’s proficiency declined from the previous year.
- In ELA, the rate of decline grew in sixth and seventh grades this year compared to the previous year.
- In math, the rate of decline grew significantly in sixth and seventh grades, roughly 4-5 percentage point declines in each.
High school math proficiency rates continue to increase, while opportunities remain
For the third year in a row, student proficiency across Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II courses has increased.
- Algebra I proficiency is 11.6 percentage points higher than it was in 2022. However, only one out of every three students (32.3%) are reaching proficiency.
- Geometry proficiency has increased to 42.3%, up 5.5 percentage points or roughly 2,700 students from 2025. This growth also amounts to a 16.1 percentage point increase since 2022.
- Algebra II proficiency has increased to 37.3%, up 11.7 percentage points since 2022.
Using Data to Drive What’s Next
The 2026 TCAP results tell a clear story: Tennessee is making real progress, but progress alone is not enough.
Strong policy and consistent implementation are helping more students reach proficiency. At the same time, proficiency is still too low for too many students, persistent gaps remain, and improved outcomes are not yet reaching every student. Tennessee must use this moment to sharpen our sense of focus and urgency.
Assessment data should drive action, from targeted classroom supports to statewide strategy, so that every student has a real opportunity to succeed. In the weeks ahead, SCORE will share more on the strategies needed to build on this momentum and accelerate outcomes for all Tennessee students.
This analysis highlights statewide trends. To explore district-level results, visit our interactive TCAP data dashboard where you can filter the results by district, subject, grade level, and student group.
Sam Brobeck is SCORE’s senior director of research and innovation. Lawand Yaseen is SCORE’s director of data.