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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Umm, as it stands now it is illegal to flunk students who are not in 3rd, 5th, or 8th grade in DCPS from what I recall and then DCPS can only hold them back once I believe :roll:  cantania is proposing ending social promotion which I am in favor of. Struggling students need intensive remediation which cannot be done in a normal classroom in most cases.

I agree that 9th grade is too late to identify struggling students. it is shameful that DCPS socially promotes children on to ultimate failure. These children need help and not social promotion.[/quote]

The problem that no-one here is acknowledging, is that the only option with worse outcomes than social promotion, is holding kids back.  Obviously they need remediation, and obviously it should be identified before 9th grade, but according to the research holding kids back beyond 2nd grade has worse results than social promotion.

Yes, it sounds like a simple solution, implement it and problem solved, but it's not that simple after all.[/quote]

I do not buy it that social promotion is better since DC has a drop out rate of about 40% and then how many of the so-called graduates from DCPS graduate essentially illiterate and unable to do basic math??? You call that a good outcome??? :roll:

Obviously I am all for early identification and remediation, in separate classrooms when needed,  of struggling students. I am also for mandatory summer school for struggling students as well and Saturday school and tutoring as well. I do think that keeping students behind a grade should be a part of the tool box as well when all of these other measures are tried as well.[/quote]

It's not a matter of "buying" anything.  Research has demonstrated over and over again, that students who are held back after 2nd grade, are more likely to drop out, and are less likely to leave skills with functional literacy and math.  It simply doesn't work.

Suggesting that the school system address a problem by adopting something that has been demonstrated, over and over again, to CAUSE the problem is like saying "Lung cancer is a huge problem.  We have to do something.  Let's go out and increase smoking rates, maybe we could teach classes about how to smoke in the elementary schools".  [/quote]

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