Tutoring in Tennessee
Kolu is software. Nobody from Kolu will drive to your house in Tennessee, and we have no office there. If you want a person, this page says how we would look for one. If the question is which skill is missing, we can help with that part.
Tennessee's state test is TCAP. In grades 3 through 8 it covers English language arts, math and science each spring, with social studies added in grades 6 to 8. The writing portion is given in its own window earlier in April. High school students take TCAP End-of-Course exams in English I and II, Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II or the Integrated Math sequence, Biology and U.S. History, in December or in spring depending on when the course ends. TCAP results count toward report card grades, by state law in grades 3 to 8 and by state board policy in high school. Every junior must also take the ACT or SAT, and the state runs a school-day ACT each spring.
What Tennessee tests, and when
| Grade | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading and writing | TCAP | TCAP | TCAP | TCAP | TCAP | TCAP | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested |
| Math | TCAP | TCAP | TCAP | TCAP | TCAP | TCAP | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested |
| Science | TCAP | TCAP | TCAP | TCAP | TCAP | TCAP | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested |
- TCAP (Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program): reading and writing, math, science, grades 3 through 8
- Main testing window
- mid-April to early May, with the writing portion in a separate week earlier in April
- Standards
- Tennessee Academic Standards
- Paid for by the state
- ACT, grade 11, on a school day
- Exams tied to a course
- English I, English II, Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, Integrated Math I, Integrated Math II, Integrated Math III and Biology (TCAP End-of-Course)
A third grader who scores "below" or "approaching" on the English language arts part of TCAP is not promoted to fourth grade automatically. The routes forward are a retake, summer camp and assigned tutoring in fourth grade, and which ones apply depends on the score.
Is there a graduation test in Tennessee?
No TCAP score is required, but a student must take the ACT or SAT in eleventh grade and pass a civics test to earn a regular diploma.
Kolu finds the missing skill and goes back to it
It starts with a skill check, a short test that gets harder or easier depending on the last answer. The result is a map of the subject broken into skills with their prerequisites drawn in, each one marked as solid, still being learned, or a gap.
After that, each session is a handful of activities picked for that student, usually something due for review, a gap to repair and one new skill. When an answer is wrong, Kolu looks at which earlier skill the mistake points to and goes back to it. Here is what that looks like for a sixth grader who can't divide fractions.
The problem on the page
3/4 ÷ 2/5
Dividing fractions
Grade 6
Multiplying fractions
Grade 5 · rests on the one below
Equivalent fractions
Grade 4 · usually where it started
Multiplication facts
Grade 3
Kolu does not call a skill mastered after one right answer. That takes correct work on different kinds of problems on different days, and a skill that fades gets brought back.
Kolu is not test prep for TCAP. It has no bank of released questions. It teaches the skills the test draws on, and it will not do tonight's homework.
When to hire a person instead
Some students need a person, and software is the wrong purchase for them. That includes a child who shuts down when the work gets hard, a student with a learning disability who needs someone trained in it, and anyone with an exam in ten days.
Ask the school first. Teachers know who tutors, and a counselor can tell you what the district already offers at no cost. A nearby college is the next place to look, since students there took these courses recently and usually charge less than an agency.
Whoever you hire, ask one question before the first session: how will you find out what my child doesn't know? If the answer is that they will go over the homework, keep looking.
Free for one subject, $15 a month for 5
Kolu is free for one subject at a time, with one full skill check every 30 days and up to 4 sessions a day. Plus is $15 a month, or $120 for a year, and covers 5 subjects at once with unlimited skill checks. A learner under 13 needs a parent or guardian to set up the account.