by AFT President Sandra Feldman
October 1997

The debate over
whether to pass students
to the next grade or
hold them back ignores
the real issue.

Last January President Clinton announced a new national education goal: Every child will read well by the end of third grade. Frankly, I was embarrassed. Why does the president of the wealthiest, greatest nation in the world have to make universal third-grade literacy a national goal? And what did he mean, anyway, given that American fourth graders, on average, were in the top tier on the 1992 International Assessment of Reading?

The answer to both questions is that too many of our poor children--and in America more than 20 percent are poor--leave third grade without being able to read well. Indeed, many go on to graduate from high school without solid skills in reading or in writing and math. AFT members have been telling us that one reason for this shameful situation is social promotion--the policy of passing students on to the next grade even though they have not mastered the current year's work. So we decided to research the issue.

Passing on Failure?

Do school districts advocate promoting students regardless of their achievement? Not exactly. We looked at policies from 85 districts, including the 40 largest in the U.S., and none actually calls for social promotion. However, most put all kinds of restrictions on which youngsters you can hold back and when and how often. So while districts may not advocate social promotion, most have policies that make it inevitable.

Most districts do not make use of specific grade-by-grade standards for what kids are supposed to learn. When "continuous progress" (or something equally vague) is the main criterion for promotion, how do you justify holding a student back? What's more, teachers--the ones who really know the students--seldom make the final decision about promotions. The last word belongs to the principals. And they may hesitate to fail students because they don't want the school to look bad or they fear pressure from parents or because they have no educational options available.

Those opposed to social promotion often think the answer is simple: Hold back unprepared students until they're ready. This policy, called retention, sounds tough and sensible--and if I had no other choice, I'd choose retention over social promotion. But if you consider retention to be a brave new idea that will force students to measure up, you're in for a surprise. We found that retention is as common in our schools as social promotion. More than 15 percent of students are held back every year, and in many large urban districts, half the kids entering kindergarten are likely to be retained at least once before they leave school. The kids who can't read, write or count when they graduate have probably been retained and socially promoted.

The Real Issue

The truth is, both policies are mechanical responses to an educational problem. Districts have all kinds of rules and regulations about promotion and retention. The scandal is how little attention they give to preventing failure in the first place. If getting kids to achieve is our aim, social promotion and retention are both beside the point. But there are obvious things we should do:

• Put an end to guesswork about student achievement. Establish standards for the various grades, with curricula and assessments to go along with the standards, so teachers and parents know how children are progressing.

• Take an "intensive care" approach to students who are falling behind. Jump on the problems immediately, using proven techniques to get students quickly back on track.

• Make sure those who teach reading are trained in the latest and best techniques. Teacher preparation is often woefully inadequate in this area, especially when it comes to teaching our most vulnerable youngsters.

• Prevent failure at the start--by making high quality early childhood education available.

These practices and programs are taken for granted in other advanced civilized nations--and in most of our middle-class schools. The trouble is, too many adults in our society have given up on America's poorest youngsters. When kids face terrible problems, they need extra help; instead, our neediest students get less. Then, either they or their teachers--or both--are blamed for failure. What's the solution? It's neither social promotion nor retention. It's making sure that all our kids get the commonsense and basic things they need to be successful at learning.

For a copy of AFT's report on social promotion, send $5 to AFT Order Dept., and ask for item 249. The report is also available online at: