Social Promotion
SHOULD FAILING STUDENTS REPEAT A GRADE OR STAY WITH THEIR PEERS?
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A STUDENT FAILS TO ACHIEVE
ABSTRACT
Should failing students repeat a grade or stay with their peer? The pendulum has swung on this issue for the past three decades. Social promotion is the practice of promoting a student, usually a general education student, rather than a special education student, to the next grade despite their low achievement in order to keep them with social peers. It is sometimes referred to as promotion based on seat time, or the amount of time the child spent sitting in school, regardless of whether the child learned the necessary material. Advocates of social promotion argue that promotion is done so as not to harm the students ' self-esteem, to keep students together by age, together with their age cohort, to facilitate student involvement in sports teams, and to allow a student who is strong in one area, but weak in another, and to advance a student further in the strong area. Social promotion began to spread in the 1930s along with concerns about the psychosocial effects of retention.[1] This trend reversed in the 1980s, as concern about slipping academic standards rose. In Canada and the United States, social promotion is normally limited to Kindergarten through the end of eighth grade, because comprehensive high schools, grades nine through twelve, are more flexible about determining which level of students take which classes due to the graduation requirements, which makes the concept of social promotion much less meaningful.
The opposite, to "hold back" a student with poor academic achievement, is called grade retention. Grade retention or grade repetition is the process of having a student repeat a grade level, usually one previously failed. Students who repeat a grade are referred as "repeaters." Repeaters can be referred to as having been "held back". Research suggests that promoting unprepared students does little to increase their
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A STUDENT FAILS TO ACHIEVE
ABSTRACT
Should failing students repeat a grade or stay with their peer? The pendulum has swung on this issue for the past three decades. Social promotion is the practice of promoting a student, usually a general education student, rather than a special education student, to the next grade despite their low achievement in order to keep them with social peers. It is sometimes referred to as promotion based on seat time, or the amount of time the child spent sitting in school, regardless of whether the child learned the necessary material. Advocates of social promotion argue that promotion is done so as not to harm the students ' self-esteem, to keep students together by age, together with their age cohort, to facilitate student involvement in sports teams, and to allow a student who is strong in one area, but weak in another, and to advance a student further in the strong area. Social promotion began to spread in the 1930s along with concerns about the psychosocial effects of retention.[1] This trend reversed in the 1980s, as concern about slipping academic standards rose. In Canada and the United States, social promotion is normally limited to Kindergarten through the end of eighth grade, because comprehensive high schools, grades nine through twelve, are more flexible about determining which level of students take which classes due to the graduation requirements, which makes the concept of social promotion much less meaningful.
The opposite, to "hold back" a student with poor academic achievement, is called grade retention. Grade retention or grade repetition is the process of having a student repeat a grade level, usually one previously failed. Students who repeat a grade are referred as "repeaters." Repeaters can be referred to as having been "held back". Research suggests that promoting unprepared students does little to increase their
References: 1. ^ a b Rose, Janet S.; et al. "A Fresh Look at the Retention-Promotion Controversy." Journal of School Psychology, v21 n3 p201-11 Fall 1983. [1] 2. ^ Leckrone, M. J. & B. G. Griffith. (2006) “Retention realities and educational standards.” In Children & Schools 28(1) p53-58 See article at http://www.redorbit.com/news/education/357610 1. "Schools Repeat Social Promotion Problems", Sheryl McCarthy, Newsday, March 28, 2002. "What If We Ended Social Promotion?", Education Week, April 7, 1999, pp 64-66. Karweit, N. L., "Repeating a grade: Time to grow or denial of opportunity?" (Report No. 16), U.S. Department of Education, "Taking Responsibility for Ending Social Promotion: A Guide for Educators and State and Local Leaders," 1999. Holmes, C. T., "Grade-level retention effects: A meta-analysis of research studies," in L.A. Shepard & M.L. Smith (Eds.), Flunking Grades: Research and Policies on Retention, pp. 16-33, Philadelphia, PA: Falmer Press, 1989. Johnson, J., and Duffet, A., "Where We Are Now: 12 Things You Need to Know About Public Opinion and Public Schools," Public Agenda, 2003.