Promotion

1
Promotion
Retention

• Keri Buchanan, Danielle Jackson, Lisa Shipman,
  and
• Christina Wolfberg-Miller

2
What is Promotion?

• Promotion Encouragement of the progress, growth,
  or acceptance of something furtherance.

Promotion. The American Heritage Dictionary of
the English Language, Fourth Edition. Retrieved
November 07, 2006, from Dictionary.com website
http//dictionary.reference.com/browse/promotion
3
What is Retention?
Retention The ability to recall or recognize
what has been learned or experienced memory.
This act is done by holding a student back from
their grade level.
Retention. (n.d.). The American Heritage
Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth
Edition. Retrieved November 07, 2006, from
Dictionary.com website http//dictionary.referenc
e.com/browse/retention
4
How long has this policy/procedure been in
practice in education?
During the 1970s, social promotion was the
pre-vailing course in light of growing evidence
about the negative effects of retention on
students self-esteem. But social promotion came
under sharp attack during the 1980s when concerns
began to mount about low student achievement and
the increasing numbers of high school graduates
who were ill-prepared for college or the
workplace. (Westchester Institute For Human
Services Research)
5
Why is this Issue under scrutiny?

• Because of the recent No Child Left Behind Act
  (NCLB) many students who are not developmentally
  ready to be promoted to a higher level are.
• Some teachers and parents are unaware of the
  IEPs and the 504 Plans. These would serve their
  student or child in a positive way. When teachers
  and parents are unaware of such proposals, they
  are promoting students into an higher level of
  challenge that is unmanageable for them.

6
Continued

• Retention is heavily frowned upon in todays
  society by both parents and obviously the
  student. In some cases it may actually be
  beneficial to hold a child back in order for them
  to develop mentally and socially at the same
  level as their peers.

7
Individual Education Plan (IEPs)
http//www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/specedu/iep/tim_sep.h
tml
Example

• 504 Plan Act of 1973Schools can lose federal
  funding if they do not comply with this law.
• This means that the school cannot refuse to allow
  a child
• To be on Honor roll
• Deny credit to a student whose absent from
  school.
• Refuse to administer medication
• Sports/extracurricular participation

8
Facts

• 15 to 19 percent of U.S. students are retained in
  grade each year.
• In many large urban districts upwards of 50
  percent of students who enter kindergarten are
  likely to be retained at least once.
• The most frequently repeated grades are
  kindergarten through second grade.
• Retained students are more likely to be male,
  African-American or Hispanic, and come from a
  lower economic class.
• Retained students are more likely to have parents
  who did not graduate from high school.
• (Westchester Institute For Human Services
  Research)

9
Alternatives To Retention

• Tutoring
• Summer schooling
• After-care/after-school programs

10
Interview
Professor Mitchell Baltimore County Public
School System.
Professor Mitchell Well, when I began teaching,
my perspective was different from what it is now.
As for the past 7 years of working in the Public
School System, Ive had to retain some of my
students because they werent developmentally
ready. Being ready is the key to promotion. If a
child is not ready, then the teacher must retain
them. (T. Mitchell, Personal Communication,
October 30, 2006)
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What would you say is a reason for retention?
Professor Mitchell Well Danielle, there are a
few reasons to retain a child. The overall reason
is behavior, and I say few reasons because
behavior can be defined in more ways than one.
One definition might be of mental behavior. Some
children have signs of mental disorders and
havent been diagnosed to receive accommodations
in the classroom. Other definitions are physical
behavior, where some children cant physically
control themselves. Mental and physical behaviors
have connections with such examples as of ADHD
and ADD. And, other behaviors can be as simple as
learning behaviors, when children arent able to
manage the curricula in the classroom. (T.
Mitchell, Personal Communication, October 30,
2006)
12
Have you ever encountered issues with parents
when discussing their childs retention?
Professor Mitchell Oh, most definitely! Ive
had a parent that told me that their child would
be scarred because of this process of getting him
caught up by leaving him behind, and Ive had to
reassure her that your child is only 5... he
wont know the difference with his age group.
(T. Mitchell, personal communication, October 30,
2006).
13
What if a child is in a high grade level and
he/she isnt quite ready to progress to the next
level? What would you suggest be done?
Professor Mitchell Like I previously stated,
I think that is it better to scar a child by
holding them back in comparison to scarring a
child by promoting them to a grade level that
they cant handle. In my suggestion, I would
encourage remedial courses, summer schooling,
after-school help, and tutoring sessions. (T.
Mitchell, personal communication, October 30,
2006).
14
What do educational professionals think about
this practice?

• Educational professionals side with promotion
  when the child is developmentally ready, however,
  retention is also considered highly because a
  child should not be promoted into a level of
  higher learning if they are significantly behind.
  

15
Groups Recommendations

• As far as Group 2, we believe that retention is
  very beneficial in many ways because a child
  should not be promoted until they are
  developmentally stable.

16
References

• Retention. (n.d.). The American Heritage
  Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth
  Edition. Retrieved November 07, 2006, from
  Dictionary.com website http//dictionary.referenc
  e.com/browse/retention
• National Research Council. (1998). High stakes
  Testing for tracking, promotion, and graduation.
  Washington, DC National Academy Press
• Promotion. The American Heritage Dictionary of
  the English Language, Fourth Edition. Retrieved
  November 07, 2006, from Dictionary.com website
  http//dictionary.reference.com/browse/promotion
• Westchester Institute for Human Services Research
  (2006). Sharing Success. Retrieved November 20,
  2006, from The Balanced View Social Promotion
  Retention Web site http//www.sharingsuccess.org/
  code/socprom.html
• (2006). School Support Program and Student
  Services Branch. Retrieved November 20, 2006,
  from Sample of Separate Circle of Care Treatment
  Plan For A Student Web site http//www.edu.gov.mb
  .ca/k12/specedu/iep/tim_sep.html