In the mid-1990s, the Chicago Public Schools declared an end to social promotion and instituted promotional requirements based on standardized test scores in the third, sixth, and eighth grades. This article examines the experience of third and sixth graders who were retained under Chicago's policy from 1997 to 2000. The authors examine the…

Across the country, grade promotion is tied increasingly to performance on standardized tests. One concern about such policies is that they might increase dropout rates. Policy proponents counter that adverse effects of grade retention should be more than offset by beneficial effects from rising achievement. Using data from Chicago, this study…

Social promotion has long been the normal practice in American schools. Critics of this practice, whereby students are promoted to the next grade regardless of academic preparation, have suggested that students would benefit academically if they were made to repeat a grade. Supporters of social promotion claim that retaining students disrupts them…

This study reviews research and looks at promotion policies in 85 school districts, including the United States' 40 largest districts, describes the practices that support social promotion, and identifies the policy changes that will be necessary to break the social promotion-retention-social promotion cycle. Social promotion prevails in these…

This paper reviews the policy context of school retention and shows that age-grade retardation has been common and growing in American schools from the 1970s-90s. The paper focuses on the period from 1972-98 and on grade retardation at ages 6, 9, 12, 15, and 17 years. By age 9 years, the odds of grade-retardation among African American and…

This paper responds to President Clinton's call for an end to social promotion. The article reports on a study that examined the effects of social promotion on students, looked at alternatives to social promotion, and investigated how teachers in a representative public school district perceive social promotion. Data were gathered from 46…

This paper reviews the extent and consequences of grade retention in elementary and secondary school. The first part of the paper reviews recent proposals for test-based grade promotion and retention. These are based on politically attractive, but scientifically unsupported claims about the benefits of retention, and minority students are more…

Many view central-city schools as bloated, inefficient institutions that pass students through the system regardless of performance. A least-squares analysis of 602 Ohio schools upholds this view. Although inner-city schools depress standardized test scores, more students graduate than expected. Social promotion may be responsible. (27 references)…

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)…

Discusses a 21-year, prospective, longitudinal study providing evidence that retained students have a greater probability of poorer educational and employment outcomes during late adolescence. Results found that retained students had lower levels of academic adjustment and received lower employment competence ratings in comparison to a group of…

Examined the responses of 102 low achieving sixth and eighth graders to Chicago's highly publicized efforts to end social promotion. Students generally described increased work efforts, and students with high levels of work effort generally had greater than average learning gains and positive outcomes in terms of promotion. About one-third of…

The theoretical and empirical support available for retention and social promotion, specifically for exceptional children, is reviewed. The impact of these procedures on academic performance, self esteem, and social development is discussed. It is concluded that these procedures are not effective interventions for children with school failure.…

In the 1996-1997 school year, the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), Illinois, began a national trend when it included a required summer program, Summer Bridge, as a central component of its efforts to end social promotion. More than 21,000 students in grades 3, 6, and 8, the promotional gate grades, have attended Summer Bridge each year, making it one…

Noting the difficult decision faced by educators each year regarding the placement of students who are not performing at grade level, this paper examines issues related to social promotion and retention of elementary school students and presents the findings of a questionnaire study of elementary school teachers in New York. The paper argues that…

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…