First of all, what is social promotion?

The best definition, in my opinion, is advancing kids to the next grade solely to keep them with their peers by age so their self-esteem is not injured. There is social science behind this, but I’m very skeptical. Of course, if held back or retained in grade, a student will be depressed. There will probably be social stigma attached to being held back. However, an even bigger problem for such students is, if promoted, will they be able to catch up or will they fall further behind their peers? Educational plans assume that students already know simpler concepts.

Imagine how difficult math will be in the fifth grade if a student does not understand what he or she should have learned in the fourth or even third grade.

Even worse is the failure to learn good reading skills. The obvious question: Is it possible for a student to reach the ninth grade without good reading skills or even being illiterate? Unfortunately, the answer is yes.

Social promotion is favored by many educators who have read studies that support the practice. However, some teachers and principals support the practice because it simplifies their job — there are no angry parents who demand to know why their children aren’t being promoted. Parents are happy because they assume their kids are doing OK. The students like it because they’re promoted regardless of their effort.

For some children, this happy time comes to an abrupt halt in the ninth grade. In high school, students must accrue a certain number of credits before being promoted. At some age, self-esteem must give way to achievement.

I’m not advocating a black and white system of deciding whether a student is promoted or retained; there are gray areas. I am warning against automatic social promotion of all students between kindergarten and eighth grades, which was the case in Niles several years ago.

It became clear then that no students in kindergarten to eighth grade were retained that year out of a population of about 3,000 kids. The superintendent changed the practice and required principals and teachers to consider each student’s progress. At that point, I vividly remember a principal asking the superintendent, “How many students do you want me to retain?”

In that instant, it became clear that Niles had fallen into some very bad habits.

Happily about that time, Niles schools instituted a Saturday Academy for at-risk children. It meets each Saturday for approximately four hours.

Unhappily, summer school is one area in Niles where significant improvement is still needed to help poorly performing students.

The best way for parents is to track their children’s progress is to pay particular attention to standardized scores. The NWEA is the most reliable test and is available in the fall, winter and spring. If any of your child’s percentile scores is less than 30 percent or below your expectations, you should closely question the teacher concerning why that is the case and how you can help.

The issue of promotion or retention is governed by Board Policy 5410, which states, “Retention: Occurs when a student is not doing the caliber of work that indicates the student should be promoted to the next grade, based on the recommendation of the Student Intervention Team with the concurrence of the building administrator.”

I sincerely hope that the school district maintains student intervention teams and doesn’t revert to the previous practice of automatic promotion for every student.

 

Michael Waldron is a retired lieutenant colonel, U.S. Army, who was born and raised in Niles. He previously served on the Niles Community School Board of Education. He can be reached at ml.waldron61@gmail.com.