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Pro/Con Issue

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Social Promotion
I had the opportunity to be part of a group in which we selected a topic to do research on. My group chose to research Social Promotion. After researching the positive and negative aspects, our group wrote a position paper, created a reference page, and made a PowerPoint Presentation to neatly display our information. By doing this project, I gained a greater understanding of this topic, and I hope that you do too!

What is Social Promotion?

boy.jpg Social promotion is the practice of passing students on to the next grade level even if they have failed to master all the current grade level objectives or to satisfy academic requirements. Social promotion was very common and did not come under public scrutiny until the late 1970’s when studies revealed the damaging results.  Research has shown that passing unprepared students does not increase student achievement or properly prepare students for college or employment. The same research also shows that retaining students to repeat a grade is also ineffective. Retention also increases a student’s likelihood to drop out of school by nearly 50%. Students promoted without mastering the curriculum usually fall further behind their classmates. Social promotion sends a message to students that little is expected of them and that they may have little worth. They do not need to put time and effort into school, and this prevents them from being successful in the future.

Reasons for Social Promotion

sad.jpg The main reason students have been socially promoted is because some believe it may damage their self-esteem. Many are still reluctant to end the practice of social promotion because they believe that the only alternative for students who do not meet performance standards is to repeat a grade. However the results of both social promotion and grade retention are unacceptably high dropout rates, especially for poor and minority students, and inadequate knowledge and skills for students. Neither practice closes the learning gap for low-achieving students, and neither practice is an appropriate response to the academic needs of students experiencing difficulty mastering required coursework. There have been many alternatives enacted in a variety of states, but not one alternative has been proven to be more effective than others.

References

References</i>

Kaufman, M.A.  (2003, April).  Reading, writing, and retention:  A primer on grade retention research. Reading Teacher,56,622(14).  Retrieved October 18, 2003, from EbscoHost.  

  • The problems with social promotion are addressed in this article, and it gives alternative ways to deal with the problem of social promotion.
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Kelly, K.  (1999, January-February).  Retention vs. social promotion:  Schools search for alternative.  Harvard Education Letter.  Retrieved October 6, 2003, from    http://www.edletter.org/past/issues/1999-jf/retention.shtml.  
  • This article compared social promotion to retention.  Evidence supports that social promotion is better than retention, but is still not the best method to use.
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Parker, D.  (2001, March-April).  Social promotion or retention?  Leadership, 30, 12-16.  Retrieved October 15, 2003, from http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/hww/results/ results_single.jhtml?nn=24.  
  • Parker strongly disagreed with the practice of social promotion.  It also summarized Bill Clinton’s state of the address regarding the end of social promotion.
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Potter, L.  (2003, April). Between a rock and a hard place. Principle Leadership, 3, 46-48. Retrieved October 15, 2003, from Wilsonweb.  
  • Creative solutions were given to fix social promotion.  The article focused on specific programs that have been implemented in various states, and have been shown to be effective.
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Ryder, M.  (2002, September-October).  Moving on up promoting at risk students:  Students at risk of retention are placed in an alternative intervention program in this district, with the goal of promoting them to the next grade level as soon as possible.  (GOAL:  Gaining On Academic Learning).  Leadership, 32, 20(3).  Retrieved October 15, 2003, from InfoTrac.
  • A program known as the GOAL, (Gaining On Academic Learning) program, is one alternative to social promotion.  California implemented this program in efforts to help children learn more information in school.
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United States Department of Education.  (1999, May).  Taking responsibility for ending social promotion:  A guide for educators and state and local leaders.  Archives.  Retrieved October 18, 2003, from http://www.ed.gov/pubs/socialpromotion/ index.html.  
  • We found this article on the government website where it showed the poor effects that social promotion has on children.  It focused on how schools need to take responsibility and end social promotion.
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Westchester Institute For Human Services Research.  (2001). The balanced view:  Social promotion and retention.  Sharing Success.  Retrieved October 15, 2003, from http://www.sharingsuccess.org/code/bv/socprom.html.
  • Facts and statistics on the issue was the main source of this article.  It also defined social promotion, and showed what research studies have concluded regarding the matter.
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Author: heidi farrelly
Last modified: 8/25/2005 4:27 PM (EST)