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

Acknowledgments

Many people helped prepare this guide by providing information, research, or feedback. The Department would like to thank the parents, teachers, and principals who participated in focus groups to discuss the issue of social promotion and strategies to prevent and intervene in school failure. Thanks go to Belden Russonello & Stewart for conducting the focus groups.

We also are grateful for the advice and reviews of several individuals outside the Department: Judith Rizzo, Deputy Chancellor for Instruction, New York City; Eric Smith, Superintendent, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools; Karl Alexander, Johns Hopkins University; Samuel Meisels, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Lorrie Shepard, University of Colorado, Boulder; and Steve Fleischman, American Federation of Teachers. The regional educational laboratories provided examples of districts that have made ending social promotion a priority; Barbara Vespucci and Robert Stonehill from the Office of Educational Research and Improvement assembled these examples.

Particular thanks go to the numerous people inside the Department who reviewed and commented on this guide. Many others provided examples, advice, and insight as we drafted this guide, and we apologize for not being able to acknowledge individually all of their hard work. Special thanks go to Michael Rubenstein, Lisa Weiner, and Ben Lagueruela of Policy Studies Associates for their support work on this project, and Priscilla Taylor for copyediting the manuscript.

This guide was a joint project of the Planning and Evaluation Service (PES) and the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), with the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) and the Office for Civil Rights (OCR). Planning and Evaluation Service staff member Kathryn Doherty prepared the document, assisted by summer interns, Deena Margolis and Joey Feldman, with additional help from Joanne Wiggins, PES. Frances Shadburn and Catherine Jovicich, OESE, assembled the research literature; Debra Hollinger Martinez and Edward Fuentes, OERI, prepared a synthesis of the effects of social promotion and retention. Art Coleman from the Office for Civils Rights provided the section on high-stakes testing. Joleta Reynolds and Tom Hehir (OSEP) provided guidance on special education issues. Val Plisko, PES, and Judith Johnson, Acting Assistant Secretary, OESE, provided overall direction, supported by Ellen Conaway, OESE. Mike Cohen, Special Advisor the the Secretary, Terry Peterson, Counselor to the Secretary, Gerry Tirozzi, former Assistant Secretary, OESE, Mike Smith, Deputy Secretary (A), and Ann O'Leary in the Office of the Deputy Secretary offered valuable insights on the issues as the manuscript progressed.

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