Why aren’t students who don’t perform at grade level held back?

I’m married to an educator at a title one school. She got her state standardized test results back and actually had the highest scores amongst teachers in her grade with a 48% class average. I don’t mean to sound like an old man, but twenty years ago when I was her students’ age I remember vividly my teachers threatening that if we don’t pass the standardized test, we don’t move on to the next grade. Is that a thing now? You can fail as much as you want, standardized or daily curriculum, and kids will still be booted on to the next grade?

My wife has some students who have literally not turned in a single assignment this semester. She says they will be moving forward. It’s like these kids are being rewarded for not doing any work. Some of them just submit their tests unanswered. Many are at a kindergarten or lower level of reading and show no interest in improvement.

How is this a positive message for children? Don’t do the work and you’ll still be rewarded. Some of your peers busted their asses and did the material only to earn the same rewards as the burnouts. Doesn’t this deter kids who are trying and ultimately result in some of them not working as hard? A little fear and repercussion should be good for them. “Oh if I don’t do this assignment or care then I can’t go on to the next grade with all of my friends.”

My wife’s reasoning is that psychologically, this can be damaging on students to be held back from their peers. But that’s exactly why I think they should be, it will incentivize students to stay together as a group. She also says the major reason is funding. That’s such bull shit if true. What makes you think a kid who can’t add or subtract properly by 6th grade is going to be able to learn prealgebra in a grade or two? I feel like it can be more psychologically damaging to force students in a class where it sounds like a foreign language to them and expect them to succeed.

Look, I’m not trying to get a bunch of students held back. I am generally interested in why this not practiced as commonly anymore and why some believe it to be psychologically damaging. I understand school can be difficult for some individuals and may need extra help. There’s no shame on that. But what I do have a problem with are students who don’t even seem to care. The ones who turn their test in blank, the ones who refuse to do any of the work, the ones who think they can just get handed rewards for doing nothing in life, why are they allowed to move ahead? Why is holding a student back really the last thing a school wants to do when it may be the best thing for that particular student’s education?

Submitted April 22, 2021 at 12:49PM by CrispitoDay https://ift.tt/3n9hkms