Is "social promotion" a common practice in PS?

[ccm]

This article was in the Sunday paper. Does this occur elsewhere or just here in Massachusetts?

 

Haverhill's school social promotion practice under fire

Boy was allowed to advance to high school despite failing grades

 

 

By Shawn Regan

sregan@eagletribune.com

 

HAVERHILL, Mass.— At first, Demita Pendleton said she thought it was computer error.

 

At the end of the last school year, she received her son Damasae's report card — straight Fs. But the bottom of the Nettle Middle School report card had the words "promoted" to eighth grade on it.

 

"I called the school because I actually thought it was a computer error," said Pendleton, a single mother of five children, two of whom attend Haverhill schools. "Not one teacher had informed me that my son was failing not one class but all of them."

 

A year later — two weeks ago to be specific — with Damasae in the final days of eighth grade, Pendleton said she received a phone call from Nettle Principal Renata Bateman. Her now 14-year-old son was again failing most of his classes, but he was being "assigned" to high school anyway. And though the boy was being promoted to high school, Bateman told Pendleton her son would not be allowed to walk on stage or otherwise participate in a promotion ceremony at the school last Thursday.

 

Pendleton called Superintendent Raleigh Buchanan to complain that her child was not receiving a proper education, but instead was being pushed through the school system. She said Buchanan told her it is an "unwritten policy" in the district to "socially promote" students if the principal determines holding them back would not be in the student's best interest.

 

In an interview last week, Buchanan provided the same explanation. He said it is left up to principals whether to promote middle school students and which children will be allowed to participate in promotion ceremonies. He called the practice of letting principals alone make those decisions an unwritten policy that predates his administration by many years.

 

In high school, students are required to earn five credits for promotion to the next grade and 21 credits to graduate.

 

"That kid is about 6 foot five and 250 pounds," Buchanan said of Damasae. "He's a huge kid who doesn't belong in middle school. He looks like he could be driving to school."

 

Buchanan also said the teen is unmotivated.

 

"He's not a behavioral problem, but the principal determined holding him back won't help," the superintendent said. "The high school is alerted about incoming students who need extra help. A program is put on place to get them up to speed. Some of these kids end up doing fine, others drop out."

 

In a typical year, Buchanan said only a handful of students — three or four by his best estimate — are socially promoted to high school with failing grades.

 

Two years ago, the School Committee passed a policy that middle-schoolers who fail two or more core academic classes would have to attend and pass a summer school program before being promoted to the next grade. But the mandatory summer school program, which was initiated by Mayor James Fiorentini, is being eliminated due to budget problems, Buchanan said.

 

Despite Buchanan's assertion, School Committee members said there is no such thing as an unwritten policy — for promoting students or anything else.

 

"It's either a written policy passed by the School Committee, or it's not a policy," School Committee President Scott Wood said. "As far as I know, the committee has never endorsed social promotion. I certainly don't support it."

 

Committee member Kerry Fitzgerald said the board is developing new policies that will spell out academic standards for grade promotion and under what circumstances students at the earlier grades and in high school will be allowed to walk on stage for promotion and graduation exercises. She said there have been "a lot of issues" regarding both grade promotion and students not being allowed to walk at graduation this year.

 

"I'd like a policy or a practice where a struggling middle school kid is intercepted midway through the year with special services to get them up for promotion," she said. "I also don't like the idea of holding a kid back who is close to being promoted or graduating. But some committee members feel differently."

 

As for Pendleton's son, Fitzgerald said the School Committee interceded in the matter of the Nettle school principal who wouldn't allow the teen to walk at Thursday's promotion ceremony at the school.

 

"We told the superintendent we don't want any child who is being promoted to be kept from walking," she said.

 

Pendleton said she is happy her son was allowed to walk with his classmates Thursday. She said the mayor attended the ceremony for about 5 minutes, and asked the students how many were going on to Haverhill High School. She estimated only a quarter of the roughly 80 students raised their hands.

 

"My son is going to Lawrence High School's performing arts academy, where they also have job training classes," Pendleton said. "It's a shame, but I believe my son will get a better education in Lawrence."

 

Fiorentini, who also chairs the School Committee, said he does not support social promotion. He also said he was disappointed his summer school initiative was being eliminated.

 

"But I understand there's no money for it," he said.

[bigdogs29906]

Yes, I believe it is.

[bettyandbob]

Perhaps the school system should have an alternative school in place. I think the principal is correct that someone who is physically larger than the average adult does not belong in a typical middle school environment with 12-14 year olds, some of whom can be rather small. It can lead to nonacademic/behavioral issues coming from and/or directed at the over age and over sized teen.

 

So, the answer is the school doesn't have the right place for this kid. The middle school is definitely not the right place. The high school is not right either, but perhaps less so than the middle school. This child may have some underlying emotional issue that is affecting performance and would qualify him for special education settings, but school districts do not like refering kids for testing and placement because of money. Unless the high school truly has a program for "low achieving" students, I would expect this child to drop out in the next year. I would hope the mother could get help advocating for proper evaluation and placement for this child.

[Renee in NC]

I think the principal made the right decision. It's too bad the mother sees this as the school's problem and not a parenting issue.

 

This large, adult-looking male is not a behavior problem (so he doesn't belong in an alternative school - those places are terrible.) He isn't failing because he is trying and not making it. He is failing because he just isn't doing his work, studying, etc. (as far as we know according to the article.)

 

If his mother thinks there is a problem, she should push the school to test him for learning disabilities. If there are LDs, then the school has legal responsibility. If there isn't, the old saying fits - you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink.

[Dobela]

It happens here all the time (and has been happening for years). One reason is due to No Child Left Behind.

[Karenciavo]

I agree. While I have sympathy for the mother, I have a hard time understanding how a parent doesn't know her child is failing. Didn't the three other report cards or Fs on tests and homework give her a clue? Unless she never looked at his school work.

 

BTW, in NYC they pay students to do well in school. Maybe that would help in MA.

 

I think the principal made the right decision. It's too bad the mother sees this as the school's problem and not a parenting issue.

 

This large, adult-looking male is not a behavior problem (so he doesn't belong in an alternative school - those places are terrible.) He isn't failing because he is trying and not making it. He is failing because he just isn't doing his work, studying, etc. (as far as we know according to the article.)

 

If his mother thinks there is a problem, she should push the school to test him for learning disabilities. If there are LDs, then the school has legal responsibility. If there isn't, the old saying fits - you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink.

[Perry]

It happens here all the time (and has been happening for years). One reason is due to No Child Left Behind.

 

I'm not sure how NCLB can be blamed. Social promotion has been happening for decades.

 

From wiki:

 

History

 

With the proliferation of graded schools in the middle of the 19th century, retention became a common practice. In fact, a century ago, approximately half of all American students were retained at least once before the age of 13.[1]

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.

The practice of grade retention in the U.S. has been climbing steadily since the 1980s,[2] although local educational agencies may or may not follow this trend. For example, in 1982, New York City schools stopped social promotions. Within a few years, the problems caused by the change in policy lead the city to start social promotion again. In 1999, the city once again eliminated social promotion; it reinstated it after the number of repeaters had mounted to 100,000 by 2004, driving up costs and leading to cutbacks in numerous programs, including those for helping underachievers.

 

Social promotion doesn't work, but neither does retention.

[Crissy]

What is a school to do in a situation such as this?

The mother is uninvolved to the point that she doesn't know her child is failing Every Single Class until the year is all but over, and the child has been unmotivated to take advantage of the free education being offered to him year after year.

A teacher, principal or school district cannot *make* a child learn the subjects placed before him.

How long should a school make room for a student who is clearly not interested in becoming educated?

 

I don't know the answers, but I feel frustrated when I see parents who want to blame the public schools for not educating their children while they sit back and refuse to do their share.

[Word Nerd]

I find it hard to believe that the parent had no idea whatsoever that her son was failing and that it's solely the school's responsibility. Weren't there regular grade cards sent, parent-teacher conferences, etc.?

[Laura Corin]

I taught in a French high school (Lycee) when I was nineteen. There were 'children' in the classes who had been retained several times and were older than me, as well as being enormous. They were deeply ashamed of their situation (as far as I could tell) but their shame was making them less and less willing to make an effort.

 

I don't know what the solution is.

 

Laura

[ccm]

Thank you for the interesting replies and links to the articles. It saddens me to think that this is not the only case.:sad:

[Karen sn]

Must only occur there because I know that in Florida you can be a straight A student, but if you fail the FCAT - you fail that school year as well!!!!!!

[melhouse]

I taught in public school before my children were born. The last year I taught (1992), we were "strongly encouraged" to pass all of our students to the next grade. This was years before No Child Left Behind. Our school was given a lot of praise because we were the only one in the system that didn't keep any kids back. Empty praise in my eyes because we weren't really given any choice.

[Impish]

Happens here in Canada. I know that you have to FIGHT to get your kid to fail a grade here, and even then they might shove them on through anyways.

 

I think using the child's size against him is ridiculous. What, if he were smaller, they'd fail him? If he hasn't mastered the material, he has no business being promoted, period.

 

I don't know about this particular school, but the one Diva was last in, I had NO clue how she was doing until the report card came home. No tests came home, she had one sheet of homework to do per week, that was it. I had NOTHING to go on. Teacher never called, nada. No clue where she was at until report card time. Then when we pulled her, I couldn't figure out where the teacher was basing the marks from, since her school books were almost completely BLANK, and that was mid Feb! :glare:

[mommaduck]

This was common even when I was a kid in the midwest. Ask me how I know. I was that "unmotivated" child. There were legitimate reasons for my "not living up to my potential". The school system and their abusive teachers were part of the problem. I did excellent and received honors in an advanced private school. I was bored in public school (learned more from the library and do well when CHALLENGED, not berated and told what a loser I was) and my thinking at the time was, "why should I do anything for these people when they could give a cr@p less if I dropped dead tomorrow?" (seriously, had a teacher tell the class that and that she actually hoped something happened to me so I wouldn't return...I was in 5th grade! and a military brat stuck in the sticks with families that were all related to each other and grew up together) The teachers actually let me bring any books I wanted from the library...good ones (Shakespeare, Mary Queen of Scots, Marie Antoinette) and "junk" ones (paranormal events and romances). They ignored me, I ignored them, and they passed me to "get rid of me" (their words). I loved college and am looking forward to going back. I'm a lifelong learner. I initially chose to either homeschool or private school, because I was determined that NO ONE was going to kill the love of learning and life learning in my children.

Edited June 21, 2009 by mommaduck

[BMW]

Well, I don't know the mom's situation... but for me... I have a house full of students and I don't log on to each child's teacher's website to check to see if they have homework or to see their grades. I assume that unless I hear differently, my student is getting a c or better. I do look for report cards... and I homeschool a few students now, too.

 

And, yep, a child can be failing and I have not been contacted at all!!

 

I let the teacher know that this is not okay with me and require an accounting of what has been happening. Then I keep a closer eye on things.

 

And here in California "studies show" that retention has no positive benefit for the student, so children are always promoted, regardless of grades. Then, if the child does not pass the state exit exams, they do not graduate. Then the parents get upset... how dare the schools???

 

Sigh. It's a mess.

[AuntPol]

I know we had a child in my daughter's grade level. He was 160 pounds in Kindergarten. He had some special needs but didn't get the help he needed because the parents were too clueless to ask for it and the school doesn't recommend because they don't want to pay for it. He failed everything every year and kept getting promoted.

 

This is a problem with arbitary grade levels. Kids who are not ready to move on are forced to do so and those who need to move on earlier are forced to sit around and twiddle their thumbs.

[camibami]

I think many parents truly DON'T know about things like LDs, how to get an IEP, when a kid needs extra help. I mean, look at this board- the level of knowledge on educational issues here is far from normal. We can't assume all parents, or even most, have the same levels of knowledge.And many times, the school is strapped for money and doesn't want to pay for it anyway, so they aren't going to suggest it, either. So the poor kid just keeps getting shoved along.

 

Actually, his mother sounds like she is doing the right thing by moving him to a vocational type high school next year. So I am not sure this kid has those totally clueless, uninvolved to the point of abuse type parents.(Those parents certainly do exist). Instead it sounds like she is trying to cut her losses and steer her son to something that can help, after years of him being neglected by his school. I think most people assume the schools WILL do the "right thing", and they are loath to change it, interfere or do anything to make waves. The school encourage this "hands off" thinking, in my experience! SO I just don't see blaming the mom in this situation, at least not based on what is in the article.

 

Poor kid. I hope he makes it.

[lgm]

It really depends on the district. What happens here is that there is unofficial tracking...so the failing kid ithat is not classified sped or learning disabled is going to drop down a track until he's at the bottom. There, he'll get double period core classes, mandatory afterschool homework help, and lots of help from the Response to Intervention program, especially if he can't read. If he is classified, he'll get tons of specialist help without having to drop down a track and, if LD, will likely graduate on grade level.

 

 

I can see parents not being on top of learning not progressing. Some schools are pretty slick with the 'everyone learns at their own pace' and it's not until middle school that the parents realize the child has been tracked low.

[skaterbabs]

For years I fought to have Yacko retained. he simply was not ready for the next grade, often more than a year behind his grade-mates in maturity. Two different school systems refused point-blank, despite it being obvious to everyone involved that promoting him was not what needed to be done. Academically, he was okay but he wasn't doing WELL by any means. Retaining him would have given him that extra year to mature, which he needed. We ended up "retaining" him as a sixth grader after the first year as a homeschooler because there was no way he was ready for 7th grade work. He *might* make it there by September of this year (after two years as a 5/6th grader), but he'll have to wprk hard all summer to get the work done.

[Renee in NC]

That's a good point, camibami. I hadn't looked at from that perspective.

 

I don't think retention works in situations like this. How does repeating the same grade (and the same work you just did) actually help? I am asking seriously - wouldn't it make more sense to figure out some other way?

[Pamela H in Texas]

Retaining children generally is a pretty bad idea. Studies show that almost 100% (it's greater than 99%) of kids held back twice will drop out so you definitely don't want to do that. However, pushing them through is ALSO a really bad idea. It sure would be nice if we could EDUCATE children instead.

[sandellie4]

I think many parents truly DON'T know about things like LDs, how to get an IEP, when a kid needs extra help. I mean, look at this board- the level of knowledge on educational issues here is far from normal. We can't assume all parents, or even most, have the same levels of knowledge.And many times, the school is strapped for money and doesn't want to pay for it anyway, so they aren't going to suggest it, either. So the poor kid just keeps getting shoved along.

 

Actually, his mother sounds like she is doing the right thing by moving him to a vocational type high school next year. So I am not sure this kid has those totally clueless, uninvolved to the point of abuse type parents.(Those parents certainly do exist). Instead it sounds like she is trying to cut her losses and steer her son to something that can help, after years of him being neglected by his school. I think most people assume the schools WILL do the "right thing", and they are loath to change it, interfere or do anything to make waves. The school encourage this "hands off" thinking, in my experience! SO I just don't see blaming the mom in this situation, at least not based on what is in the article.

 

Poor kid. I hope he makes it.

 

:iagree: Parents are often discouraged from being involved (they're called "helicopter parents" even when they have straightforward questions), at least in my area. I feel for the kid, I really do.

 

Sandy

[Renee in NC]

Retaining children generally is a pretty bad idea. Studies show that almost 100% (it's greater than 99%) of kids held back twice will drop out so you definitely don't want to do that. However, pushing them through is ALSO a really bad idea. It sure would be nice if we could EDUCATE children instead.

 

For me, this is where the current model of institutional school fails. There isn't a way to educate everyone. The teacher *has* to teach to the middle and the faster kids and slower kids get left behind or tune out.

 

What can be truly done for a man-child (and at 14, regardless of size, this is what he is) that doesn't want to engage, isn't encouraged to engage, and isn't causing a problem? Problem kids are moved (don't know that it helps, but at least *something* is done.) The rest? What do you do - keep him in the 7th grade until he passes? What if he never does (because he refuses to do the work?)

 

Is it possible that this kid is just waiting out compulsory education so that he can drop out and get a real life? This is what I did! Gifted programs only go through elementary, then advanced classes are offered, but in my opinion they were slightly harder versions of the same ol' stuff that the school spoon feeds everyone. Maybe he is really gifted and just BORED out of his mind!

 

Can you tell that I *hated* school?:lol:

 

ETA: My parents did *nothing* to try and figure out why I was barely passing. I spent most of my time reading books, writing, and learning about things that I thought were important.

[swellmomma]

Ds's promotion to 2nd grade was social only, When they planned to do the same thing with 3rd grade I opted to homeschool him, however most single parents don't have that option

[Audrey]

It is common practice here, too. No one fails a grade. Even at the high school level, they are not left behind a grade. They simply don't earn the credit if they do not have a high enough score to pass the class. They can then continue to attend school and not pass classes until they are 20 years old.

 

There are kids who hang in there and actually go through the graduation ceremony, but they don't get a diploma. I think it's just a pathetic game to make kids (and their parents) "feel" good about themselves whether they actually should or not. :glare:

[Blessedfamily]

I'm not sure how NCLB can be blamed. Social promotion has been happening for decades.

 

From wiki:

 

Social promotion doesn't work, but neither does retention.

 

A popular episode of "Good Times" dealt with JJ being socially promoted to the 12th grade, and that was back in the 70's.

 

I agree that both social promotion and retention are problematic.

[Pamela H in Texas]

For me, this is where the current model of institutional school fails.

 

I will agree with this sentence. I completely agree that institutional schools regularly fail too many students. I think it is terribly sad because I think every child deserves an appropriate-for-the-individual education.

 

There isn't a way to educate everyone.

 

This is just not true. Maybe schools with their current focus, method, etc haven't figured out how to do it, but I don't believe for ONE SECOND that it isn't possible.

 

The teacher *has* to teach to the middle and the faster kids and slower kids get left behind or tune out.

 

And this is not true either. There ARE exceptional teachers that make sure that ALL the students in their classes get what they need. I talked to a WONDERFUL one just Saturday.

 

I think the way schools are set up do a great disservice to students and make it REALLY difficult for teachers to TEACH every student. I think there are plenty of teachers that don't have a clue how to meet the needs of children. Maybe education majors should be given the skills and tools, on top of the belief that it is possible to educate children. I'm not sure they are getting any of those things now...at least not to the degree necessary.

 

But I don't, for a second, believe it just isn't possible.

[mom2denj]

I think the principal made the right decision. It's too bad the mother sees this as the school's problem and not a parenting issue.

 

This large, adult-looking male is not a behavior problem (so he doesn't belong in an alternative school - those places are terrible.) He isn't failing because he is trying and not making it. He is failing because he just isn't doing his work, studying, etc. (as far as we know according to the article.)

 

If his mother thinks there is a problem, she should push the school to test him for learning disabilities. If there are LDs, then the school has legal responsibility. If there isn't, the old saying fits - you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink.

 

Very well said!!

[Snickerdoodle]

There isn't a way to educate everyone.

 

This is just not true. Maybe schools with their current focus, method, etc haven't figured out how to do it, but I don't believe for ONE SECOND that it isn't possible.

 

 

The truth is there a fundamental difference between teaching and learning. In all cases, the onus of learning is on the student. I think the problem with education is that the education establishment spends a lot of time trying to figure out the best way to educate kids and not trying to figure out why so many of them are not learning.

[phathui5]

Four of our neighbor kids have repeated the first grade. I don't think social promotion happens as much in elementary school.

[Heather in Neverland]

In our district, social promotion is almost always the parent's choice and not the teacher's (at the elementary level). Most times, the teachers want to hold the child back and the parents insist that they be moved on. At least that's how it goes here.

[AndyJoy]

Even the PRIVATE school that I taught at last year succumbed to parental pressure and promoted a failing 6th grader. He failed English, math, and science and earned a D in history. The school wanted him to repeat 6th grade, but the parents wouldn't hear of it. The school had wanted him to repeat 3rd grade originally, but the parents fought that. Not surprisingly, he was completely lost in my 7th grade math & English classes. He was pulled out mid-year and placed in public school.

[Impish]

Here, its very much in elementary. My mother had to fight for my older brother to fail gr 1, and that was 30+ years ago. They were worried about his feelings being hurt, even though he was no where near ready for gr 2 academically.

[WiseOwlKnits]

It's happening in TX. I saw it more times than I'd care to count when I was teaching middle school. The most popular reason to social promote them? Because they were discipline problems and the staff was tired of dealing with them.

[SquirrellyMama]

It happens a lot here in Iowa. I heard a radio program where the school board of the Des Moines district was talking about social promotion. They felt it was too hard on kids' self esteem to be held back.

 

I had friends who had to put their daughter into a private school just so she could repeat a grade. It helped her a lot. She just wasn't ready to move on academically or emotionally/socially.

 

I think it depends on the situation. The mom in the article sounded clueless and I'm not sure if it would help her son.