Retention vs. Social Promotion

School Administrator, August, 1998 by Donna Harrington-Lueker

"You should never reach that point," continues Christie.

WHAT INTERVENTION PROGRAMS EXIST TO
PREVENT FAILURE?
Intervention Programs    Percent
                       of Districts
Parental Notification      57.6
Tutoring                   15.3
Alternative Programs       12.9
Diagnostic Testing         11.0
Source: "Passing on Failure," American
Federation of Teachers
WHAT EVIDENCE IS USED IN RETENTION
DECISIONS?
Evidence                 Percent of Districts  Percent of Districts
                           Elementary Level    Middle School Level
Teacher-Assigned Grades          48.2                  58.8
Standardized Tests               38.8                  35.3
Developmental Factors            45.9                  36.5
Attendance                       30.6                  27.1
Teacher Recommendation           48.2                  45.9
Evidence                 Percent of Districts
                          High School Level
Teacher-Assigned Grades          64.7
Standardized Tests               23.5
Developmental Factors            21.2
Attendance                       17.6
Teacher Recommendation           25.9
Source: "Passing on Failure," American
Federation of Teachers

The Revival of Summer School

Forget the lazy days of summer. As school systems move to adopt tougher promotion standards, mandatory summer school programs are becoming their first line of defense. There's no consensus, though, about what makes the most effective summer school program.

"There was a lot of discussion about what the program would focus on when the district revived summer school," says Drenda Higdon, summer school program manager in the Denver Public Schools, which this year required 2,500 students to attend summer school as a condition of promotion.

The Denver schools finally decided to focus on improving the literacy skills of students required to attend, all of whom were reading a year or two below grade level on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills.

One of the leaders in standards-based reform, the Corpus Christi, Texas, Independent School District, has taken a different approach. Instead of repeating an entire course or taking traditional remedial classes, students are grouped according to the specific standard they haven't achieved, says Sandra Lanier-Lerma, the district's assistant superintendent for instructional and school services.

For instance, English students who haven't met the standard for analyzing a nonfiction work would be placed in a class devoted to that standard and work on thesis statements, paragraphs and essays, Lanier-Lerma says.

"This is their opportunity to demonstrate achievement and receive credit," says Lanier-Lerma.

The Chicago Public Schools, on the other hand, extended its back-to-basics curriculum into its slimmer school program, requiring a standard curriculum, an emphasis on so-called scripted lessons in basic skills in reading and mathematics, and common daily lesson plans. Officials from the central office also monitored summer school classes to ensure uniformity.