| Sumario: | This article discusses the problem of social promotion in education in the U.S. The problem of promotion or nonpromotion began about 1840 when elementary education was divided into eight grade levels. Eventually many school systems began to shift from a policy of promoting only on the basis of achievement. Schools began to consider factors such as the age and maturity of the student and to adopt "social promotion plans" and "automatic promotion plans." Admittedly, the proponents of social promotion within the education profession far outnumber those who would do away with it. However, the number of people who are taking a closer look at the results of social promotion is growing. Merely eliminating social promotion will not solve the problem. Unless special programs are provided, failing students will simply be recycled through programs that were inappropriate for them the first time and may be equally inappropriate and of less interest the second time. Renewed efforts by educators at developing programs for students who are not achieving at grade level are badly needed.
|
|---|