Teachers - a Q about moving to next grade

[AJL]

DS has been placed in the 2nd grade (he's finishing 1st grade now.) He was not prompted though. What's the difference?

[hocus2]

Was it a social promotion? Sometimes schools move kids up if they are close to meeting the requirements for a grade because making them repeat doesn't help.

ETA For example passing means you have a 3. There are many grades (reading, math, writing, social studies, science etc) so a a 2 here and there isn't a big concern. Someone with more 2's and 3's though would be not be passing a grade. I think our schools have been given more discretion about what to do for students who don't meet the goals for the grade.

[UMaineTeach]

no idea. I thought they only did that kind of thing in HS, where you could "be a senior" but have to take Jr. English and Sr. English at the same time to actually graduate.

[hopecounts]

Most likely, social promotion.
Schools hesitate to retain students even if they 'fail' a grade since the evidence is it doesn't really help.

[Deleted]

No idea (I'm not a teacher).. I asked about having DD repeat grade 1 and her teacher shut me down immediately saying "not an option -we don't do that"

[redheadk]

In my district, it meant that the student did not meet the qualifications for automatic promotion so was placed into the grade level instead.

[nsl]

Promotion based on credits (passing/failing) is only done at the high school level in my district, and holding a kid back to repeat a whole grade is only done in truly exceptional circumstances. If this was my kid, though, I would ask to meet with the current teacher and whoever he's been tentatively assigned to for next year to discuss specific steps you can take over the summer to ameliorate learning loss and try to bring him closer to grade level before school starts again.

[AJL]

So DS's only academic deficit is in reading, specifically trouble with fluency. He's at a DRA level of 12 and needed to be at a 14 to be promoted. Ideally for "college readiness" he would be at a 16. So we need to work with him of the summer to practice, practice, practice reading.

[MrsAxilla]

Does your library and/or bookstore do a reading challenge? Ben has two this summor - one through Barnes & Noble and one thought the library. They win prizes for reading so many hours or whatever. Maybe look into something like that?

[MauMau]

I'd focus on reading in the summer. Check out library programs that help encourage with summer challenges.

I'm not familiar with prompted/promotion type things. But spent a lot of time doing research for a paper on retaining children and not moving them forward. Research shows that it's usually more detrimental to hold a student back then them starting a bit behind from their peers. Don't imagine your school felt that despite being a little behind he will catch up.

[tres3]

May 29, 2015 0:19:09 GMT -5 AJL said:

So DS's only academic deficit is in reading, specifically trouble with fluency. He's at a DRA level of 12 and needed to be at a 14 to be promoted. Ideally for "college readiness" he would be at a 16. So we need to work with him of the summer to practice, practice, practice reading.

DS3 was like this for K. He was supposed to be at a DRA6 but he was at DRA3.  You can't force a kid to read before he's ready and he just wasn't ready. This year he figured it out and it clicked

The school probably figures your son just needs it to click and it will next year.

My oldest wasn't reading at beginning of 1st but was reading Harry Potter by end of 1st but 2d grade apparently his DRA scores moved just 2 points all year. His teacher showed no growth.  Kids dont' grow linearly.

I would just keep working with him but not to the point that he hates reading. (which is how my DS3 feels because they really pushed reading too hard in K).

[auntie]

Not a teacher. Parent of a child with dyslexia.

So what's the plan for next year?

Is he getting any RTI? Are they considering an evaluation to figure out why he's not proficient in reading? Does he need reading support or differentiated instruction?

I would be concerned because progress is expected of all kids over the summer. By the start of 2nd, kids are expected to be at DRA 18. If he isn't advancing at the rate they are, he could be even further behind than he is now. Are there any schools in your area that offer a summer reading program during July?

www.riverview.wednet.edu/curric/elemglance/readingbenchmark/DRA-BookLevelChart.pdf

[hocus2]

May 29, 2015 0:19:09 GMT -5 AJL said:

So DS's only academic deficit is in reading, specifically trouble with fluency. He's at a DRA level of 12 and needed to be at a 14 to be promoted. Ideally for "college readiness" he would be at a 16. So we need to work with him of the summer to practice, practice, practice reading.

  We have a similar requirement. Kids should be at level 16 by the end of 1st grade, but being behind 2 levels is only mildly concerning especially if he made progress all year. I've talked to teachers and they say that kids still show a lot variation up through 3rd grade in reading skill. I would certainly work on reading a lot over the summer and perhaps consider having a teacher who tutors come in a 3 or 4 times over the summer to give him specific tips to boost his skills.

[rugbywife]

People use the term 'college readiness' for grade 1s???

[ijack]

May 29, 2015 11:12:32 GMT -5 rugbywife said:

People use the term 'college readiness' for grade 1s???

I was just thinking this :/

[MauMau]

May 29, 2015 11:12:32 GMT -5 rugbywife said:

People use the term 'college readiness' for grade 1s???

Yes, some schools and districts do. I personally hate it. Who's to say in 12 years that college will even be the best option.

[AJL]

May 29, 2015 11:12:32 GMT -5 rugbywife said:

People use the term 'college readiness' for grade 1s???

Yep. It's kind of daunting. That's not to say that I don't want my child not to be ready for college, but everyone is different and the pressure is a bit much. 

[hopecounts]

May 29, 2015 11:12:32 GMT -5 rugbywife said:

People use the term 'college readiness' for grade 1s???

Common Core is based on the idea that the goal is to have kids college ready by the time they graduate so each grade's goals are set based on progression towards 'college readiness'
It's one of my issues with CC