Hold failing student back or not?

Hold failing student back or not? Parent, educators debate promoting failing
By Harry Hitzeman Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted Sunday, October 17, 2004

The boy's final eighth-grade report card was far from stellar

The 14-year-old brought home three Fs, two Ds and a C.

His father, Mike Pineda, wanted his son Alec to repeat eighth grade at West Chicago Middle School.

But school officials felt otherwise and promoted him to Community High School.

Mike Pineda fought the move, arguing that promoting a student who didn't meet academic standards was sending a bad message to children: Show up to class sporadically, give minimal effort and still get passed.

This mindset of "I don't have to work, I can get by anyway," Pineda said, absolves students from consequences and sets them up to fail in high school and later in life.

He even briefly re-enrolled his son in eighth grade in a neighboring district this fall but was told Alec couldn't repeat eighth grade because he'd already been promoted to high school.

So while Pineda did eventually enroll Alec at Community High, he's decided to come forward with his family's story in hopes the district will stop what he sees as social promotion - passing students onto the next grade just to be with their peers, even when the students don't really make the grade.

"I don't want it to happen to more kids. It's probably happened enough, anyway," Pineda said. "It isn't about (Alec) anymore. It's about everybody else. It's about all the kids who are in District 33."

The Pineda case spotlights a thorny dilemma for schools: deciding when it makes sense to hold a student back, whether there can or should be an absolute pass-or-fail standard, and whether the effects on other students should considered.

Not clear cut

Although Alec failed half his eighth-grade classes, local and state education officials say grades are just one factor.

Anna Lovern, director of policy services for Illinois Association of School Boards, said schools have a lot of individual control in deciding who passes and who fails.

In college or high school, it's much more clear-cut: You earn the required credits in the required subjects in order to get a diploma.

It's not nearly so clear in elementary and middle school, and children that young can't be given the responsibility to make choices that could affect the rest of their lives.

"It's not that simple when looking at an elementary student," Lovern said.

John Dively, executive director of the Illinois Principals Association, which provides professional development and resources to more than 4,000 administrators, said parents should have a voice, but the decision is best left to the pros.

"It isn't an exact science because every case is different. The bottom line is you want to do what's in the best interest of the student," Dively said.

Pinning down how many students each year are held back is difficult. The Illinois State Board of Education doesn't track that, spokesman Mark Wancket said.

What research shows

From a parents' standpoint, flunking students might seem like a good way to motivate them to work harder.

"Research has shown consistently that's not the case," said Jeffrey Hecht, chairman of the Department of Educational Technology, Research and Assessment at Northern Illinois University. "Simply having them sit in the same classroom and learn the same material rarely means they're going to be successful."

Many studies that tracked retained students showed they don't catch up and are more likely to flunk another grade and eventually drop out of high school, Hecht and other experts said.

Lorrie Shepard, dean of the University of Colorado's School of Education, studied retention policies and their effectiveness in the 1980s and '90s. She agreed repeating a grade can actually increase the likelihood a student will eventually drop out of high school.

Other strategies - tutoring, after-school programs, summer school and one-on-one reading instruction - can have more positive effects, she said.

Educators say retained students can lose touch with peers and suffer low self-esteem.

But Hecht acknowledged the issue isn't that one-sided. "The flip side of the argument is we have to have standards. We shouldn't be promoting kids if they don't make the grade."

What District 33 does

Citing student confidentiality, District 33 Superintendent Ed Leman declined to discuss Alec Pineda's case.

But Leman did say a team of five teachers evaluates each student and, if it's a close call, a counselor and principal are consulted. A decision to promote a student must be by consensus, and more than just grades are considered.

"It has to be a big-picture look to make the best decision," he said. "We look at everything. There is a measure of subjectivity."

Teachers also look at test scores, age, classroom behavior, interests and other factors.

"They may do poorly in classroom work and well on standardized tests or vice versa," he said.

Leman said very few students are retained in District 33. In the last four years, 27 students in six elementary schools, none middle schoolers, were retained, officials said.

The district does not socially promote students, nor does it use retention as a way to penalize, Lemon said.

"I think we have to be careful not to do damage and (that) we're picking the option that is best for the long-term interest of the child," he said. "Retention, in general, is not a successful response."

Mary Beth Cooney, a District 33 reading teacher, said holding students back was more common when she started at the district 27 years ago.

Retention is now viewed more "like as a last resort," she said. A retained student may do better when the grade is repeated, but they fall behind again once they are promoted.

In addition to providing extra help to struggling students, District 33 teachers use differentiation, where students are taught the same concepts except at different levels of difficulty and intensity, she said.

"You're always going to have kids who don't qualify for special education but aren't learning at an average rate," Cooney said.

What the state says

In the late 1990s, the Illinois legislature mandated that schools end social promotion.

The Illinois Association of School Boards' suggested policy says a student shouldn't be promoted based on "age or any other social reason not related to academic performance."

Several years ago, District 33 added one word: "A student shall not be promoted solely based upon age or any other social reason not related to academic performance."

Robert Lemon, a District 33 board member at the time, disagreed with the change.

"It was the intent of the legislature that social promotion no longer occur in the state. ... The change in the District 33 policy, the addition of the word 'solely' was done intentionally to allow for social promotion," Lemon said. "I argued against it at the time and I would argue against it now."

Stuart Whitt, an Aurora attorney and specialist in Illinois school law, said he has not encountered another district that added the word "solely."

"I don't know whether adding the word 'solely' dramatically changes the intent or not," he said. "The relevant question is, why was this kid promoted?"

How pupils catch up

Community High Principal John Highland also declined to comment specifically on the Pineda case but outlined several programs in place to help students who had poor grades.

Every year, high school officials meet with middle school teachers to review a list of incoming freshmen who have had bad grades.

Those students get special attention, he said, such as the "Ready, Set" program, where they're assigned a mentor, usually an upperclassman or social worker.

They can also be assigned to the Academic Skills Center, where English and math teachers give students extra help during school hours. The center is open to all students, but 208 of the school's 2,164 students were assigned this fall.

Still, the responsibility to meet standards is on the students. If they fail to earn 20.5 credits, they don't receive their diploma - and that's final.

Highland said some students are motivated by their peers' academic success, others explore vocational avenues and some may drop out.

The state principals' association gets calls every year from principals perplexed on whether to promote, Dively said. And that's bound to continue, he said.

Mike Pineda protested to District 33 and high school administrators to have his son held back. He even rented an apartment in another town so his son could repeat eighth grade at Stratford Middle School in Bloomingdale, though after a few weeks he was told that wasn't an option.

Though he recently started high school, Alec Pineda says he was prepared to repeat eighth grade. "I want to prove to myself that I'm ready for high school," he said. "I don't think I'm ready, but I'm going to have to go, anyway."

Alec is now getting extra help at the Academic Skills Center and he has joined the football team. He's still catching up, but Alec seems to be adjusting, his dad said.

When Alec was in seventh grade, he got Cs and Bs with the help of a school tutor, Mike Pineda said. In eighth grade, the tutor was taken away, and Alec's grades went downhill, he said.

Mike Pineda still wants the standards for promotion changed and pledged to take his fight to Gov. Rod Blagojevich if necessary.

While some parents might be afraid or embarrassed to speak out, Mike Pineda said he is telling his story because he believes he can make a difference.

"Maybe someone will say, 'Hey, that's my kid. Maybe I'll ask for tutoring. I'm going to the school and ask what is their promotion process,'" Pineda said.

Promotion: Schools say flunking is last resort