Politics and School Promotion [NYT editorial board criticizes Bloomberg for ending social promotion]

The NY Times ^ | March 17, 2004 | NYT Editorial Board

[summer]

Politics and School Promotion

Published: March 17, 2004

There is nothing about Mayor Michael Bloomberg that's more admirable than his determination to improve New York City schools. But lately he has been acting as if he believes he is the only person in town who cares about the welfare of the students. This week, he fired members of the public school governance board who disagreed with his new initiative to stop social promotion and rammed through that controversial policy. Mr. Bloomberg was wrong on two counts. He made a political mistake in reinforcing the worst fears of opponents of mayoral control of the schools. He made an educational mistake in imposing a plan that sounds good but is likely to hurt more children than it helps.

The strict new promotion standard could cause as many as 15,000 children each year to repeat third grade — four times the number usually held back. The city tried a similar program once before, with the disastrous Gates program of the 1980's. That program held back legions of children, who ended up with little to show for the stigma and the extra time spent repeating grades.

The city emerged from that disastrous period understanding that forcing huge numbers of third graders to repeat the grade would do little to improve their performance. What would really help would be smaller classes, skilled teachers and more intensive instruction.

Mayor Bloomberg cannot point to any other city where a program like the one he is pushing has worked. But he argues, passionately, that the city has to try something to save lagging students before it is too late. His aides say the new program will be much better than the one that failed so miserably in the 80's, with more resources and a better structure.

Obviously, if a child is not working at grade level, teachers need to intervene. The main disagreement between Mr. Bloomberg and his critics is the mayor's insistence that young students should be kept back on the basis of a single test. Even testing companies acknowledge that this is inappropriate. Attendance, participation, teacher evaluations and other information need to be part of the equation.

The appeal of Mr. Bloomberg's more stringent standard lies in the impression that all third graders can be brought up to performance standards by simply holding them back until they master the material. There's little evidence that such a strategy has ever worked, or that children will try harder because of the fear of not being promoted. On the other hand, the data shows that students who repeat grades eventually become discouraged and stop trying.

The mayor, who has virtually no experience in education, was given unprecedented powers to run the city schools by the Legislature. In exchange, the lawmakers required him to seek approval for new policies from a 13-person governing board, 8 of whose members were appointed by him. Despite the fact that most board members owed their appointments to the mayor, and knew that he could replace them at any time, Mr. Bloomberg could not rally a majority for his program. Most people would have taken that as a message that the policy needed reworking. Mr. Bloomberg took it as a mandate to fire the rebellious board members. It was far from his best hour.

[summer]

As a FL teacher who hates social promotion and a native NYer, I have been following this on-going saga about NYC Mayor Bloomberg's determination to end social promotion. Oddly missing in the dozens of articles I have read is any mention of FL, Gov Jeb Bush, and how FL is now light years ahead of NY in terms of ending social promotion. From editorial above:

Mayor Bloomberg cannot point to any other city where a program like the one he is pushing has worked.

No, but he could point to a whole state, the 4th largest in the country, and the only state in the USA that even the NYT acknowledged showed a statistically significant improvement in 4th grade reading scores. The only state in the country, according to a recent federal report acknowledged by the NYT. Why aren't the NYT editors mentioning here what they already know about FL?

Is it because the lessons we have learned down here are too frightening for the opponents of social promotion? From editorial:

The appeal of Mr. Bloomberg's more stringent standard lies in the impression that all third graders can be brought up to performance standards by simply holding them back until they master the material.

That is not only Bloomberg's "impression" but it is also the opinion of many who know that some students do need more time to master material. Mastery of material is how some reading programs are designed, to help a student reach a level of mastery before moving on. Mayor Bloomberg is not alone in his view. Again, from editorial:

There's little evidence that such a strategy has ever worked, or that children will try harder because of the fear of not being promoted.

Oh, really? You don't believe 3rd graders in FL try harder now? Believe me, they do, and they understand they have to pass a reading test in 3rd grade. Not get "100%" but PASS. And, FL's 3rd graders DO try harder now, IMO, because I have talked to them and they are not afraid -- they just know they have to read, read and read some more. What's wrong with that? A teacher can't do EVERYTHING -- the student has to work, too.

Finally, from editorial:

On the other hand, the data shows that students who repeat grades eventually become discouraged and stop trying.

Any teacher who has taught middle school or high school can also tell you that students who have been socially promoted and can't read are likely to drop out.

The NYT and the critics of social promotion failed to do anything about these problems for years, and now cry and whine endlessly when someone else tries to solve a very real problem. I have a lot of sympathy for Mayor Bloomberg in this matter because it takes guts, real guts, to change this practice. And, I give Gov Jeb Bush a lot of credit for having the guts to do something about this problem.

Here is a lesson learned in FL, in case Mayor Bloomberg is listening: After Gov Jeb Bush ended social promotion, by state law, years ago, guess what? School districts ignored that state law. So, Gov Bush then passed another law, to hold back funds to school districts who did not comply with the earlier law. Then, and only then, did school districts stop fooling around.

Yes, it is hard to deal with a problem that has existed for decades up decades. Yes, here in FL there is remedial help, summer school reading camps, extra money for schools to hire reading coaches, all that, and more. Yes, 3rd graders can submit a portfolio of their 3rd grade work to attempt to evidence mastery of reading skills, if they fail the test, because it is true some kids just blow a test. But that is not a route many parents want to go, even though all 3rd grade teachers must maintain these portfolios for students. There has, in fact, been a lot of support for Gov Bush and his education reforms. Oh, and by the way, he was re-elected in a landslide in this state, during an election year, 2002, when Education was the #1 concern of voters.

In short -- NYT, you need to wake up.

FCAT editorials, from around the state, supporting Gov Bush's education reforms

And, from a black journalist writing for The Orlando Sentinel:

A Wise End to Social Promotion

[summer]

I meant to type: decades upon decades

[ECM]

Weird...Bloomberg doing something I agree with.

This is going to be a strange day...

[summer]

This has been a fascinating saga to follow, because it is like a reply of FL years ago. If you have a chance, read recent issues of The NY Post online.

[summer]

This has been a fascinating saga to follow, because it is like a replay of FL years ago. If you have a chance, read recent issues of The NY Post online.

[summer]

Sorry about that double-post. I meant to only post #5.

[Naspino]

Again -- to an international socialist the goal is population control. Intelligent and independent children breed difficult to control adults. "Social Promotion" is a socialist policy for control.

[rocky88]

I hope you wrote an email to this slug at the NYSlimes to correct him! nice work!

[trebb]

There's rumors that his real motivation is to influence 4th grade skills that are used to benchmark the "No Child Left Behind" program. Concentrating on 3rd graders is evidence of this. Instead of building a solid educational foundation, he wants to weed out those that will drag the scores down. It's kind of like how some years ago, Congress decided to change the way some finances were looked at by moving things until after the first of the year to make the current budget look good. They tried to use smoke and mirrors to make people decline to consider how the next year was already in a deficit and it hadn't even happened yet...Politics remains the Ying and the Yang, common sense and children suffer again.

[Tacis]

The NUT simply is looking out for its own interests. They want to be able to hire more black reporters so their numbers look good but they don't want them to be able to read or write so they can't do any more damage. Social promotions are one way to accomplish this.

[Alberta's Child]

There's rumors that his real motivation is to influence 4th grade skills that are used to benchmark the "No Child Left Behind" program. Concentrating on 3rd graders is evidence of this. Instead of building a solid educational foundation, he wants to weed out those that will drag the scores down.

That scenario seems plausible. One aspect of the "No Child Left Behind" legislation specifically precludes New York from playing the little games they've played in the past to bump up their test scores. Before NCLB, the New York City school system would prop up their test scores by inflating the ranks of their special education classes and bilingual classes -- since the test results for students in these classes were not reported as part of the overall average. As a result, there have been a number of disgraceful cases in recent years in New York, involving below-average kids with naive parents placed in classes with retarded students, kids who spoke English as their native language in bilingual classes, Chinese kids in Spanish bilingual classes, etc.

The NCLB legislation requires school districts to report test scores for the entire student body, which pretty much throws that whole charade out the window. My guess is that enrollment in New York City's bilingual classes and special education classes will experience a mysterious dramatic decline next year.

[summer]

I disagree with trebb's claim about everything being geared soleyl to influence "4th grade" reading scores.

4th grade was chosen as a benchmark by both FL and the federal government for reasons concerning the nature of the texts students usually begin reading by 4th grade, and the change in human brain development at the biological age of 4th graders.

If you talk to 4th grade teachers and 3rd grade teachers, they will both tell you there is a very real change happening in kids from 3rd to 4th grade, on many levels. That's why the 4th grade benchmark was agreed upon in the first place.

BTW, there are other benchamrks at different grade levels as well. Here in FL I believe students are currently taking tests in grades 3-10, not just 3rd.

[summer]

soleyl = solely

[summer]

I hope you wrote an email to this slug at the NYSlimes to correct him! nice work!

Thanks for your kind words. I thought about it, but to tell you the truth, in light of the Jayson Blair matters, it seems to me the NYT itself is practicing social promotion.

[summer]

matters, = matter,

[Alberta's Child]

I don't disagree with what you've just posted, but I think Trebb's point is still valid. Regardless of what occurs in the human brain between the 3rd and 4th grades, a student who is failing in 3rd grade is highly unlikely to become an honor student in the 4th grade. As such, a school district that is interested in propping up its average 4th grade test scores has a vested interest in keeping marginal students back in the 3rd grade.

[summer]

Also, these problems of low student achievement are ancient. Sometimes people pretend such problems don't exist, or will go away, or don't matter. Whatever. It is no big deal to the 3rd graders I recently talked to for them to pass a test. When I asked them how was that FCAT, here is what they said to me: "It was a piece of cake!" So, these kids are not flipping out over it. But, these kids know they have to read in 3rd grade -- though I realize that IS big news to some students elsewhere! :)

[summer]

As such, a school district that is interested in propping up its average 4th grade test scores has a vested interest in keeping marginal students back in the 3rd grade.

I think here in FL there is a real effort to identify students who are having problems as early as Grade K, so I actually see more students being left back at that grade level. At that grade, according to some research, the most gains can be made for the child. Conseqently, the emphasis I have seen here is to identify these kids sooner, so that by 3rd grade, they may actually be caught up. Also, the entire Grade K curriculum seems to me to be what was once the Grade 1 curriculum - kids are expected to know a lot more in Grade K.