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Thursday, March 24, 2005
Social Promotion
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I hate this term, actually, “social promotion.” It sounds so political, and yet for a child it is the hugest of huge deals. It’s the difference between getting to go onto the next grade even when you can’t do the work in the grade you’re in or the most humilating of alternatives: getting held back.
State law required last year’s third graders to pass the reading portion of the CRCT to get promoted. Almost all of them did. (It’s a miracle!… Or was it just an easy test to pass?) This year, fifth graders must pass the reading and math portions to make the leap to middle school. Seems like a sensible policy, right?
Well, there’s actually scant evidence that holding kids back enhances their chances of graduating. And, there’s the issue of what to do when kids get held back more than once and are older and bigger than their classmates. What to do then?
I don’t think there’s any question that “social promotion” does the child no favors, but what should schools do with the kids who by the end of the year don’t know enough to move on to the next grade?
