Student promotion or retention is determined by various criteria: grades, student performance, competency tests, attendance records, and conduct. Representative court decisions bearing on each of the criteria are discussed, and guidelines for the development of promotion and retention policy are outlined. (MD)

This collection of essays discusses some of the general concerns and issues related to tracking the flow of community college students through higher education. The chapters in the volume include: (1) "Tracking Systems and Student Flow," by Trudy H. Bers; (2) "Beyond the College: State Policy Impact on Student Tracking…

Today's administrators must exercise caution in using student retention as a means of responding to changing social values and to the current media attention on declining standardized test scores. Recent reviews of hundreds of studies of student retention have concluded that some low achieving students do benefit from retention, but the majority…

Education is an investment in human potential which effects economic prosperity. The high rate of failure for students in public elementary schools from eight large school districts in Louisiana is alarming. Averaged over the school years 1983-1984 to 1985-1986, the percentage of failures in grades 1 through 8 ranges from 6.65% to 17.6%. The state…

Proposes guidelines for a student promotion/retention policy including clear academic goals and expectations, the use of multidisciplinary teams to make decisions about grade repetition and monitor student progress, opportunities for the students to "catch-up" with their age peers, and program alternatives to retention and social…

Most students pass through five major transitions from one level of schooling to another. This book-for principals, teachers, and counselors-focuses on the transition from middle school to high school. The book is grounded in Queen's Twelve Factors for Successful Student Transitions, a research-based set of findings and guidelines. Each factor is…

This article examines available literature on a variety of options for accelerated learning in middle school. Different forms addressed include concurrent enrollment, guided independent study, combined enrollment, out-of-school acceleration, self-paced instruction, grade skipping, and differentiated or advanced class enrollment. A list of…

Discussion of the newly modified United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 1 reviews the test, phase-in plans, and potential impact on basic biomedical sciences education. It is recommended that medical schools not use the test as the sole criterion for promotion to the third year and carefully review other examination-related requirements…

In response to the increased movement toward competency-based education, a large urban southeastern school system implemented a Pupil Progression Policy in the 1980-81 school year. This paper reports on the results of a 5-year longitudinal study of the policy's effect on the academic achievement of retained and promoted students who entered first…

This book on the topic of flunking and grade retention comprises the following articles: (1) "Introduction and Overview" (Lorrie A. Shepard and Mary Lee Smith); (2) "Grade Level Retention Effects: A Meta-Analysis of Research Studies" (C. Thomas Holmes); (3) "Repeating and Dropping Out of School" (James B. Grissom and Lorrie A. Shepard); (4) "A…

This manual was written to assist local school districts in fulfilling the 1984 legislative mandate of the Connecticut General Assembly that requires schools to develop, adopt, and implement written policies concerning homework, attendance, and promotion/retention. The first section offers a brief discussion of the process of policy development,…

Reviews historic approaches to grade retention, what research does and does not show about retention, and some factors to weigh when considering retention. Focuses on models developed by H. Wayne Light and Laurence Lieberman. Includes a sample elementary school promotion policy and a sample retention referral form. (IW)

This paper examines the impact of multiple grade skipping on social adjustment and self-esteem of extremely gifted students. A survey of the literature and research in Australia and the United States on well-planned and carefully monitored radical acceleration finds no evidence that students suffered social or emotional problems; to the contrary,…

Reveals significant correlation between older Maltese students and high test scores on their examinations to enter junior high. Older students are those born in the early months of the year. Study found little difference in scores between genders, although girls were more likely to pass the examination than boys. (MJP)

Using information gathered through a study funded by the New Zealand Minister of Education, this document examines the history and implementation of the New Zealand government's 1:20 teacher-pupil ratio policy first set in motion in 1985, pupil progress associated with the policy, and related literature about class size. The following papers, each…