Social Promotion
Student Achievement
Opinion
Guest Post: The Misleading Specter of "Social Promotion"
Let's give it up for guest blogger Dan Brown, the author of the Bronx teacher memoir, “The Great Expectations School: A Rookie Year in the New Blackboard Jungle.” You can email him at danbrownteacher@gmail.com.
Student Achievement
Study Finds Kindergarten Retention Harmful
Despite policymakers’ continuing pledges to end “social promotion,” a new national study suggests that, when it comes to kindergartners, schools do more harm than good by making struggling pupils repeat a grade.
Student Achievement
Fla. Board Seeks Social-Promotion Ban in All Grades
Florida could become the first state to require students to pass a reading test to advance at every grade level, under a plan approved by the state school board last week.
Student Achievement
N.Y.C. to Retain Low-Scoring 5th Graders
New York City school leaders, who only months ago withstood intense criticism for holding back 3rd graders who failed city tests, have announced that the program was so successful they plan to expand it to 5th grade.
Student Achievement
Explainer
Social Promotion
Research suggests promoting unprepared students does little to increase the achievement but it also shows holding them back is negative.
Student Achievement
Studies Fault Results of Retention In Chicago
Many pupils who are held back in grades 3, 6, and 8 in the Chicago public schools do not benefit from retention, and some do worse than students who are promoted without additional help, according to two major studies released last week.
Student Achievement
Opinion
Get Rid of Retention And Social Promotion
Retention and social promotion are the educational equivalent of Dr. Doolittle’s two-headed llama—going nowhere and wasting a lot of energy in the process, writes journalist John Merrow.
School & District Management
Mayor’s Firm Hand Over N.Y.C. Schools Sparks New Debate
Mayoral control of the New York City schools was at the center of renewed debate last week, after Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg replaced two members of the city’s education policymaking board to ensure enough votes for a controversial plan he backed to end social promotion.
Mayoral control of the New York City schools was at the center of renewed debate last week, after Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg replaced two members of the city’s education policymaking board to ensure enough votes for a controversial plan he backed to end social promotion.
Student Achievement
More Chicago Pupils Flunk Grade
For six years, Chicago has conducted a high-profile crackdown on social promotion, touting it as a no-nonsense way to ensure that students literally make the grade. But now, the country's third-largest school district is flunking more students than ever, stirring new life into an old debate about whether retaining students is harmful or helpful. Includes the table, "Chicago Summer School Results."
Education
Good News: Social Promotion Is in Decline
Percent of teaches who say their schools automatically promote students who have reached a maximum age:
Student Achievement
Ga. OKs Social-Promotion Ban As Texas Revisits Its Own
The movement to end social promotion got a boost last week from the Georgia legislature. And it seemed to be holding its own in Texas, where an effort to slow down new promotion requirements lost potentially crucial support from state leaders.
Student Achievement
Social-Promotion Ban Advances In Georgia
Georgia children who enter 3rd grade in 2003 would have to pass a state reading test to be promoted to the next grade, and 5th and 8th graders would face similar requirements in later years, under a bill passed by the state Senate last week.
