Grade Retention and Accountability

I make no secret of the fact that I am not a fan of high stakes testing. The pass/fail nature of these tests is simply unfair and wrong in my view.

However, there seems to be another side of this question that bears closer examination. Is grade retention itself an effective strategy for improving student achievement.

Enter the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) with some interesting observations. In a position statement on this subject, the association states "...that as many as 15% of American students are held back each year, and 30% -50% of students in the US are retained at least once before ninth grade. Furthermore, the highest retention rates are found among poor, minority, inner-city youth."

Now I am no supporter of a simple policy of so called "social promotion" either. In fact, the association points out that "...neither grade retention nor social promotion is an effective strategy for improving educational success."

NASP argues in favor of what it calls "promotion plus" specific interventions that focus on student needs. I particularly like the very first thing on its list which is to "encourage parents' involvement in their children's schools and education through frequent contact with teachers, supervision of homework, etc..

Other suggestions include:

-offer extended year, extended day, and summer school programs that focus on facilitating the development of academic skills
-establish full-service schools to provide a community-based vehicle for the organization and delivery of educational, social and health services to meet the diverse needs of at-risk students
-Implement effective school-based mental health programs

NASP says "a recent systematic review of research exploring dropping out of high school indicates that grade retention is one of the most powerful predictors of high school dropout."

With local and national emphasis on understanding and reducing what is called a dropout crisis, it is clear to me that automatic grade retention policies are part of the problem and not the solution. They should be stopped immediately in favor of more innovative approaches. Start with a detailed study of NASP recommendations.

High School Attendance Results

The local Learning to Finish effort just concluded its tracking of attendance in Caddo and Bossier districts. A recent editorial in The Times indicated "absenteeism rates ranged from an average of 1.4 percent at Judson Elementary to 10.1 percent at Woodlawn High to 12 percent at Caddo Career and Technology Center."

I personally tracked the High Schools and logged the following results: Magnet 2.4%, Green Oaks 3.9%, Captain Shreve 4.3%, Byrd 4.6%, North Caddo 5.5%, Northwood 6.1%, Fair Park 6.6%,Huntington 6.7%, Southwood 6.7%, BTW 7.2% and Woodlawn 10.1%.

Further, I clocked Caddo at 4.7% overall while Bossier came in at 4.2%.

In any event, the exercise was a good one. We all know that students must be in school to succeed. Communities surrounding the involved high schools should take note and make sure your children are attending school. I suspect many parents are under the impression that the kids are in school, only to be surprised when report cards are distributed.

Parents must check in on students frequently to pick up early signs of potential trouble. That means getting to teachers and administrators at other than school sponsored activities such as back to school nights.

Be sure to stay alert for other Learning to Finish initiatives.

Attendance (Learning to Finish)

We currently have 8 days worth of attendance data as published in The Times. Some trends are already apparent. For example, for the 11 high schools, the best in class is Magnet High with an average absentee score of 2.2%. Caddo Parish has an average absentee score of 4.8%.

It would be good to check your neighborhood school against these benchmarks. Remember, the child can not perform if he or she is not in school.

Learning to Finish (a national effort)

"...the learning to Finish Campaign , a national community-based effort established to respond to one of our most urgent public problems-the high school dropout crisis.
Despite repeated assertions on the part of leaders in all sectors about the importance of addressing the dropout situation, the problem today is more acute than ever. Recent reports indicate that nationally about one-third of all students who enter high school do not graduate on time if ever. Some 2,500 students leave high school every day." This quote is by Suzanne W. Morse, President of the Pew Partnership for Civic Change. Pew has teamed with local civic organizations to help the Shreveport-Bossier area reverse this trend.

I support this effort without reservation. It seeks to bring together collective local resources to focus on the drop out problem

The Times is running local attendance information on a school by school basis for the month of September. Clearly, if a child is not in school, there is no way to be successful.

I urge readers of this blog to pay close attention to the issue of attendance for this entire year. No matter who you are, you can talk up the idea of going to school each day, on time and ready to learn.

My plans are to post frequently regarding the local Learning to Finish effort.