SOCIAL PROMOTION AND RETENTION:What are the solutions?
Speaker: Jessica Overweg
March 15, 2011
THE 3 W’S OF SOCIAL
PROMOTION AND RETENTION:
1. What is it?2. Why is it important?3. What are the
solutions
W W
W
WHAT IS SOCIAL PROMOTION AND RETENTION?
Social Promotion occurs when a student, regardless of their achievement, moves up from one class to the next.
Retention happens when a student has to repeat an educational course or grade.
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_promotion- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grade_retention
CHECKING FOR UNDERSTANDING:
...Can anyone explain what the difference between social promotion and retention is?
WHAT’S BEING ARGUED
ABOUT SOCIAL PROMOTION
AND RETENTION?
Social Promotion: It sends students the message
that they can get by without working hard.
Students who struggled with a past grade and have moved on to the next will struggle even more – they’re being set up for failure.
If gives parents a false sense of their child’s progress.
Retention: It’s very common.
It’s very expensive. Its costs $13,000 per child per year.
Student’s progress regresses after 2-3 years.
It can cause behavior problems in students.
www.ericdigests.org/2001-3/policy.htmwww.nasponline.org/about_nasp/pospaper_gradretent.aspx
Click icon to add picture
FACTS
15% of all U.S. students get
held back each year.
30-50% of U.S. students are retained
at least ONCE before 9th
grade.
On their list of top anxieties, students have retention as #3. It follows behind blindness and a death of a parent.
Retention rates have increased by 40% over the past 20 years.
www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/articles/promote.retain.htmwww.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/atrisk/at800.htm
Social PromotionAdvantageso Allows students to continue
with the rest of their peers.
Disadvantageso Shows students that they
can get by without working hard.
o Can set students up for failure.
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
RetentionAdvantageso Shows students that they need to
work hard to earn their achievements.
o It allows students that are behind to get serious and ready for the next grade.
Disadvantageso It doesn’t solve the problem that
the student is struggling – they’re just repeating the same things they didn’t understand before.
o Physical and emotional problems can occur.
o Increases drop out rate.
ww
w.e
ricd
igest
s.org
/20
01
-3/p
olic
y.h
tmh
ttp
://e
n.w
ikip
ed
ia.o
rg/w
iki/S
oci
al_
pro
moti
on
htt
p:/
/en
.wik
iped
ia.o
rg/w
iki/G
rad
e_r
ete
nti
on
So…knowing the arguments, facts, and advantages vs. disadvantages,
WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK?
Is it setting students up for
failure if they’re socially
promoted?
Should we retain students if it sets them
up to be more likely to drop out of school?
Shouldn’t we be helping
our students instead of
causing them such high
anxiety?
CHARACTERISTICS OF A CHILD THAT IS ELIGIBLE FOR SOCIAL PROMOTION OR GRADE RETENTION:
Male (twice as more likely)
Minority Late Birthday Delayed
Development Attention
Problems Live in Poverty Single Parent
Household
Parent’s have low educational attainment
Parents that aren’t involved in child’s education
Kids who change schools frequently
ww
w.n
asp
on
line.o
rg/a
bou
t_n
asp
/pso
pap
er_
gra
dre
ten
t.asp
xw
ww
.ncr
el.org
/sd
rs/a
reas/
issu
es/
stu
den
ts/a
tris
t/at8
00
.h
tm
WHAT ABOUT PHYSICALLY AND EMOTIONALLY UNDERDEVELOPED STUDENTS?
-Physically and emotionally under-developed students are usually retained, put into special education programs/classes, or get help from a teacher that addresses their specific need.
www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/atrisk/at800.htm
Some educators hold students if they believe the child is too “young” or “immature” for their grade and will fit in better with the one below.
BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO SOME SOLUTIONS….
Does anyone have any questions????
What are some Solutions?
1. Intensify Learninga. Early Reading Programs – Make sure students are
reading at young age.
2. Provide Professional Development to Assure Skilled Teachers
a. Classrooms set up differently:i. Looping: Teacher is with students for more than a year.ii. Class-size reduction: Less student to teacher ratio.
Instead of having 20-25 kids in a class, it should be 13-17.
www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/atrisk/at800.htmwww.education.com/reference/article/alternative-social-promotion-retention/
3. Expand Learning Options
a. After School Programs
b. Summer School (Some schools are even
doing year round schools – to make sure
students don’t forget information retained.
c. Tutoring – One on One time tutoring is
proven to be highly effective for students
who need extra help.
4. Assess Students in a Manner to Assist
Teachers
a. Effective Instructional Strategies and
Assessments – Have checklists and tests readily
available to assess student’s performance.
5. Intervene in time to Arrest Poor
Performance.
a. Parental Involvement – Having parents
involved is key to a child’s education.
www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/atrisk/at800.htmwww.education.com/reference/article/alternative-social-promotion-retention/
SO…NOW THAT WE KNOW SOME ABOUT SOCIAL PROMOTION AND RETENTION, WE CAN TAKE OUR NEW KNOWLEDGE AND PUT IT INTO PRACTICE!
BOBBY GREEN
Bobby is a 2nd grader at Woodside Elementary. He loves going to school to see
all his friends and playing outside, he just doesn’t really enjoy the whole
“schoolwork” part of school. Bobby struggles with reading and math. He tries
so hard but he still can’t quite understand it. His mom works most nights so
he’s usually stuck at home with his elderly neighbor lady who can provide him
little to no help with his homework. He tries to do his homework by himself, but
ends up giving up because he just doesn’t get it.
Throughout 2nd grade, Bobby continues to struggle. His grades are continually
poor. It gets so bad that the school has to talk to his mother. They’ve decided
that if Bobby continues down the path he’s going, he might have to repeat 2nd
grade; while all his friends move on to 3rd grade.
Bobby’s mother feels horrible about this because she can’t be there to help
him. She’s not sure what to do. She knows that Bobby will be devastated if he
has to stay behind while his friends move on. What should the school and
Bobby’s mother decide?
Should Bobby be retained and repeat the 2nd grade? OR should he move on
with the rest of his class to 3rd grade and be socially promoted? What other
solutions would help Bobby?
Amanda Gold
o Amanda Gold is a 3rd grader who loves horses. She likes to learn everything she can about them. Her library at school has lots of books about horses. The only problem is that Amanda is dyslexic. She really struggles with reading and is quite far behind the rest of her classmates.
o She loves when her 8th grade buddy comes and reads with her. With help and practice, Amanda can overcome her struggle and read better.
o What are some solutions that could help Amanda with her dyslexia?
JUSTINE MICHAELS
Justine is a 5th grader at Parkside
Elementary.
She was born with Down Syndrome.
Right now, she’s able to work in a
regular classroom but is a little
behind the rest of her class.
Should Justine continue in a regular
classroom, switch to a special
education class, OR are there
different alternatives for her?
SO…WHAT CAN WE TAKE AWAY FROM THIS TODAY?
What is it? Why is it important? What are the solutions?
The 3 W’s
REFERENCE PAGE
Alternatives to social promotion and retention (n.d.). In Education.com.Retrieved March 6, 2011, from www.education.com/reference/article/alternative-social-promotion-retention/
Beyond social promotion and retention - Five strategies to help studentssucceed (n.d.). Retrieved March 6, 2011, from
www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/atrisk/at800.htm NASP position on retention (n.d.). In National Association of School
Psychologists. Retrieved March 6,2011, from www.nasponline.org/about_nasp/pospaper_gradretent.aspx
Retention and social promotion: Research and implication for policy. (2001, March). Eric Digests, 161.Retrieved March 6, 2011, from www.ericdigests.org/2001-3/policy.htm
Retention (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved March 6, 2011, fromhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/grade_retention
Social promotion (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved March 6, 2011, fromhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_promotion
To promote or retain? (n.d.). In Wright's Law. Retrieved March 6, 2011, from www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/articles/promote.retain.htm
Top Related