Week+6

Week 6 Work in Progress

I, Aurora Arnett, verify that the members of our group listed below worked with me to complete this assignment. Kathryn Cook Megan Lines Amy Morris Scott Kaye Aurora Arnett

Describe what you believe about promotion/retention practices and what alternatives you believe to be most appropriate. Support your views. What impact does No Child Left Behind have on promotion in your school?

Social Promotion is not effective when the teacher allows the student to pass to the next grade level without having complete knowledge of the content areas or skills required at his or her current grade level. By socially promoting a student, it sends the wrong message to the student, parent and the teacher: the student will believe that she does not have to work hard enough to be successful in the classroom, the parents will believe that their child has mastered the skills required to pass to the next grade level, and the teacher will assume the student is well prepared and continue providing assignments or activities at grade level, rather than the student's instructional level. This can be challenging for the teacher, when he or she discovers that the student is not performing at the grade level required. The teacher then must provide interventions or strategic lessons for the student, who was supposed to have mastered the skills required to pass to the next grade level.

A student should be promoted after she has demonstrated full knowledge of the content areas or skills taught at grade level. Not only should the student have demonstrated her knowledge on paper, but she should be able to apply the skills in different forms. As an example, a group activity could be assigned where the teacher can observe the student’s progress or lack of knowledge in a particular skill, or use certain educational websites to keep track of the student’s progress. Some schools offer websites such as Riverdeep or Destination Success where the teacher can assign an activity or skill that the student has been working on that week. Some students perform better when given the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge in different ways or styles. Referring to chapter four, the multiple intelligences theory has found to be effective when applied correctly in the classroom setting. Though challenging for teachers to plan lessons based on the students learning style, the multiple intelligences theory can be effective to provide the students opportunities to demonstrate success or a chance at improving their learning skills.

Retention, as well as social promotion, does not promote positive gains for the student. Research shows that a student who is retained is more likely to drop out of school and become an at risk student. When a student is retained, it can also negatively affect his or her social development. The student observes that his peers have moved on to the next grade, but he is repeating the same grade. The student can begin to display behavior problems and learn helplessness. He may be more likely to give up on an assignment after simply looking at the words or numbers: even though he can answer the assignment correctly, he thinks to himself, “What is the point? I am going to fail anyway." Unfortunately, neither social promotion nor retention is helpful for the student’s social or psychological development, at least not for the long run.

Administrators should employ methods to target support for high-risk students as early as possible, as well as provide resources and support for their teachers. This support can significantly improve the behavior and academic performance of these students. Retention should be used as a last resort and only when a strong intervention plan has been put in place for the repeated year, and more emphasis should be placed on early interventions such as small class sizes, tutoring, summer school and peer mentoring. Students are individuals, and so are their learning problems. Each case must be handled in the best way to meet their individual needs. Alternatives to retention include the identification of learning disabilities. The use of interventions, remedial teaching methods and even alternative placements should be used to meet these students’ needs as necessary. Classroom teachers also need to make modifications as necessary, possibly through 504 plans or individual behavior plans. These plans would aim to assist the students with classroom tasks that may not be at the instructional level, but are designed to accelerate student gains. Modified class work also allows students to achieve success on grade level standards, while working at their own pace and their own level. Keeping students focused on grade level standards is a goal of No Child Left Behind. The No Child Left Behind Act also encourages the retention of low-performing students by requiring schools to meet performance targets each year.

No Child Left Behind legislation aims to put an end to social promotion. It has forced schools to treat each student as a valuable commodity. The ability of schools to achieve positive ratings is dependent on the performance and success of all of its students. Gone are the days when it was acceptable to "write-off" unsuccessful students. Administrators, and therefore teachers, now feel pressure to enable all students to grasp content outlined by standardized tests, not just the ones who are willing to. Teachers have been pushed to find ways for all students to find success in not only testing, but also in attendance and graduation rates. At the high school level, retention is not a decision that is based on student development, but totally on student’s performance or lack of it. Almost all of the at-risk students, who attend regularly, pass, because they get enough work done in school, complete more homework in study hall, or at the end of class, when given the chance. They may not do well on tests if there is not continuity or support at home, but their work done in school enables them to pass. Many schools have policies which require a set number of days of attendance to pass the course. Students who fail a course are not necessarily retained, but do not receive the credits needed to graduate. The ability of schools to achieve positive ratings is dependent on the performance and success of all of its students. Many schools have adopted programs which spend extra time helping students who have struggled to pass the Ohio Graduation Test and are finding ways to motivate students and their parents to make gains in the student's attendance rate. Teachers of core subjects have been forced to teach to the content of the tests to ensure their students have the best chance at success on standardized tests. Teachers of non-core subjects have even been charged with the responsibility of creating opportunities for students to practice skills of reading comprehension and answering extended response questions within their curriculum.