Jeb Bush campaigned for governor on a clear and bracing set of education reforms in 1998. Having won office, he immediately pursued a dual-track strategy for reforming Florida's K-12 education system: standards and accountability for public schools, choice and options for parents. Florida lawmakers followed those reforms with additional measures.…

This study is an examination of Florida and Michigan's performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress's (NAEP) standardized test, often referred to as "the nation's report card." Immediately prior to and during Florida's immense improvement on these scores from the past 15 years, the state made substantial changes to its…

The purpose of the research presented here is to identify which factors school level practitioners consider in deciding whether to retain or promote a student and to ascertain their knowledge of and training in retention research. This research illuminates the process of determining which students are promoted and which are retained, and the…

This document compiles a series of three policy briefs focused on the subject of grade retention. The first brief, "Grade Retention: A Flawed Education Strategy," suggests educators and policymakers caution the use of grade retention as a remedy for poor student performance. As concluded by the majority of past studies, grade retention is a failed…

An education gap between white students and their black and Hispanic peers is something to which most Americans have become accustomed. But this racial division of education--and hence of prospects for the future--is nothing less than tragic. The good news is that the racial divide in learning is a problem that can be fixed. Of course, it can only…

Using John Kingdon's (2003) multiple streams approach to agenda setting, I analyze how key actors within the state of Wisconsin understood the need to construct and implement the state's No Social Promotion statutes to improve students' academic performance. Policymakers within the state focused their standards-based reforms on the issue of…

The reauthorization of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) makes this a good time to consider whether and how current accountability serves the public interest and whether and how it can better do so. This report explores these issues in the context of the current literature on the effects of accountability in K-12 education. It considers the meaning…

Survey responses of 407 elementary school principals revealed that the factors most influencing principals' decisions to retain students include lack of mastery of material, local and state accountability standards, and the student's maturity level and chronological age. Principals also believe children should be retained in the early years.…

Merit promotion policies that require students to post passing scores on standardized tests or be retained in grade have become widespread. In this study, the author used a cultural sociological perspective to examine how teachers and students at two urban high schools enacted a district-wide merit promotion policy. Findings indicate that rather…

In the spring of 1995, the Chicago Public School system, the nation's third largest and, arguably, one of the most troubled, made national headlines when it was taken over by Mayor Richard M. Daley, then starting his third term and the most popular mayor since his father, Richard J. Daley, held the office for 21 years. By far the biggest reform…

This study used a regression discontinuity design to examine the causal effect of summer school and grade retention on student achievement. In 1996, the Chicago Public Schools instituted an accountability policy that tied summer school attendance and promotional decisions to performance on standardized tests, which created a highly non-linear…

This report takes an in-depth look at Chicago Public Schools (CPS) teachers' responses to the high-stakes-testing initiatives and the impact on students' school experiences. It examines teachers and principals' assessments of the policy, tracks changes in instructional practice over time, and examines trends in critical student indices. The report…

Describes origin and elements of the standards movement. Reviews research on grade retention and social promotion and concludes that both are failed strategies to improve student achievement. Describes principal's role in meeting standards. Discusses the use of systemic and classroom interventions to help students meet state standards. (Contains…

Discusses looping, or multiyear assignment of children, as a strategy to ease the retention/social-promotion dilemma. Multiyear assignment gives teachers extra time to bring low-performing students up to grade level and develop stable, caring relationships with students. A suburban Kansas school's successful program is profiled. (24 references)…

This report presents information from a conference of leaders from districts and states that have been implementing policies to end social promotion. Discussions examined: goals for ending social promotion; promising intervention strategies (using comprehensive accountability systems, using multiple measures to determine grade placement, offering…