A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

FOR RELEASE
July 1, 1999

Contact:
Melinda Kitchell Malico (202) 401-1008
Julie Green (202) 401-3026

RILEY RELEASES GUIDE TO HELP SCHOOLS END SOCIAL PROMOTION

The U.S. Department of Education today released a guide, Taking Responsibility for Ending Social Promotion: Strategies for Educators and State and Local Leaders, to help schools address the harmful, but all-too-common, practice of passing along students who are unprepared academically for the next grade.

"Putting an end to social promotion goes hand-in-hand with making sure all students are working toward high standards," said U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley. "This guide will help schools put comprehensive measures in place to ensure that all children learn and succeed in school. It will go a long way to helping schools, parents and community organizations work together to help each child learn to high standards."

President Clinton called for an end to social promotion in his 1999 State of the Union address and directed the Education Department to develop a guide on effective practices to help do so. The Clinton Administration's proposal to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the Educational Excellence for All Children Act of 1999, pending in Congress, would require states to provide children with comprehensive educational services to end social promotion within four years. The plan also provides resources to support after-school programs, smaller class sizes, teacher training, and literacy programs which can all provide extra help for students working to meet challenging standards.

"Neither passing students on when unprepared, nor retaining them in the same grade are good options," said Riley. "Being promoted without regard to effort or achievement or retained without extra help regrettably tells students that little is expected of them, that they have little worth and that they do not warrant the time and efforts it would take to help them succeed in school."

In 1998, 10 states had explicit policies for ending social promotion, seven based on state standards. Nearly a quarter of states have high school exit exams based on state standards. At least 32 states and 34 urban districts have accountability systems that provide rewards or sanctions for schools that are based, at least in part, on state or district assessment results.

"Improving teaching and learning requires a comprehensive approach that puts a priority on early learning, strong teacher preparation and extra learning time," Riley said. "Holding schools publicly accountable and providing help where it is needed are critical to success. Putting a stop to social promotion requires tough decisions and strong actions from schools and communities. I'm proud of the hard work so many school districts are already doing to end social promotion, but we must help all states and districts address this challenge." The guide draws on lessons from research and practice and gives educators a blueprint to help prevent academic failure through specific actions that can help all students meet high expectations. The guide shows how states and districts can develop policies that demand high expectations and success, how schools can prevent and intervene to reduce school failure and how these strategies can be sustained through ongoing support for improvement. It also offers an inventory of federal resources that are available to help states, districts and schools end social promotion.

The report notes that to end social promotion, schools must above all focus on improving classroom instruction - and direct resources toward that goal. Among the strategies the guide lists for ending social promotion:

• reduce class sizes so students get more individual attention
• set clear objectives for students to meet performance standards at key grades
• identify student needs early and apply appropriate instructional strategies
• focus on early childhood reading readiness skills
• provide high-quality curriculum and instruction
• provide professional development that deepens teachers' content knowledge and improves their teaching
• clearly communicate expectations for all concerned, especially families and communities
• offer summer school for students who fail to meet high academic standards
• extend learning time through before and after-school programs, homework centers and year-round schooling
• keep students and teachers together for more than one year and use other effective student grouping practices
• develop transitional and dropout prevention practices
• hold schools accountable for performance through reports on school performance, rewards for school improvement and intervention in low-performing schools

Innovative local strategies, such as a Title I-funded school readiness program, Bright Beginnings, in Charlotte, N.C.; Boston's Policy to End Social Promotion, including summer school, a transition program for retained students, a limit on unexcused absences and mandatory algebra; and the El Paso, Texas, Socorro Independent School District's Year-Round Schooling program - are also chronicled in the guide. "Our ESEA proposal builds on efforts like these that give children the support and extra help they need to succeed in school," said Riley.

There is evidence that many students graduate from high school without the skills they need. Nearly 15 percent of high school graduates who do not go on to college cannot balance a checkbook or write a letter to a credit card company to explain an error on a bill.

About a third of all students score below the basic level in mathematics on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. A recent study by the Brookings Institution estimates that the annual total cost of providing remedial instruction to incoming freshmen in U.S. colleges is about $1 billion.

The report is available by calling 1-877-4ED-PUBS, and will be available on the department's web site at www.ed.gov/pubs/socialpromotion/.

###