Social Promotion Has Consequences

Despite failing nearly every class since the sixth grade, Tyler Thompson is now a freshman at a Sandpoint high school. When his mother questioned school administrators in two North Idaho school districts about why they were continuing to send her son on to the next grade level every year, she remembers their explanations focused on his size and age – he’s 15 years old, 6-foot-5 and built like a linebacker. When Kristi Thompson asked Tyler why he didn’t try harder in school, the teen told her, “They’re going to pass me anyway, Mom.” The decision to move a student from grade to grade despite a lack of academic achievement – commonly referred to as social promotion – has been controversial for decades. Although President Bill Clinton called for a ban on the practice in the 1990s, the decision to end it remains at the state and local levels/ Jody Lawrence-Turner , SR. More here. (Kathy Plonka’s SR photo: Tyler Thompson talks about his grades with his mother, Kristi Thompson)

Question: Do you support social promotion?