The expansion and increasing popularity of Advanced Placement (AP) programs have led to a new and significant trend: students are taking AP courses earlier in their high school journey, with a notable increase in enrollment among freshmen and sophomores. This study examines the effects of early engagement in AP courses for students deemed…

In California adult schools, standardized language assessments are typically administered to adult English as a second language (ESL) students upon enrollment; students then take these same state-approved tests throughout the academic year to demonstrate progress. As these tests assess only listening and reading skills, schools may use their own…

Georgia law mandates that students who fail the state Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT) twice in grades three, five, and eight be retained, unless a committee is convened including a subject-area teacher, an administrator, and the student's parent or guardian. If the committee unanimously decides the student may be successful in the…

Educators and policy makers confront challenging questions of ethics, justice, and equity on a regular basis. Should teachers retain a struggling student if it means she will most certainly drop out? Should an assignment plan favor middle-class families if it means strengthening the school system for all? These everyday dilemmas are both utterly…

The Achieving Collegiate Excellence and Success (ACES) program is a collaboration between MCPS, Montgomery College, and the Universities at Shady Grove to create a seamless pathway from high school to college completion; it targets students who are underrepresented in higher education, the first in their family to attend college, or both. As one…

This study looked at the success rate of first-year students in a new program for conditionally admitted students. Logistic regression was used to determine the impact of several pre-college variables, such as high school grade point average and ACT scores, and orientation generated variables, specifically placement test results, on the dependent…

Recognizes the issue of nonpromotion as a reality that affects almost every public school. Suggests a simple, inexpensive, and promising remediation technique (modeled after the collegiate athletic practice of "redshirting") utilizing a semantic differential to change the focus of retention from negative inputs to positive outputs. (NEC)

Education is the key to young people becoming full partners in shaping a global future and in shaping the nation's future. Quality basic education for young people is key to maintaining Alberta's standard of living and ensuring competitiveness in the world market. The education system must focus on what all students need to learn and be able to…

This study investigated policies about the use of content acceleration and grade skipping for gifted students in middle and secondary schools by 105 school districts. Results indicated that only 15% of responding districts had formal policies about grade skipping, whereas 57% had informal policies effectively preventing grade skipping. Formal…

Examined usefulness of the Gesell Preschool Test (GPT), a developmental readiness test used by teachers and school psychologists to determine a child's readiness to begin formal instruction. Results revealed that, after accounting for effects of math and reading achievement, GPT failed to contribute to the discrimination of 30 retained and 58…

Describes problems associated with student-promotion systems and practices and specifies the situations in which grade retention works best. Offers recommendations for rethinking the policy and practice of retention. (LMI)

The equity audit is a new tool with remarkable power to identify, analyze, and evaluate a given school districts' quality control. In three case study school districts located in urban areas of New York, North Carolina, and Arkansas, considerable inconsistency and incongruity were documented in student placement practices, promotion and retention…

This booklet examines ways to promote student success in a California standards-based system. It reviews the history of social promotion and retention in the United States and suggests why it is time to move beyond the "either/or" mindset. The booklet suggests that neither social promotion nor retention solves the basic problem of…

Outlines four limitations inherent in using a minimum competency test to determine eligibility for a high school diploma and, in some jurisdictions, to determine advance to the next grade. Discusses the appropriate uses of testing in an overall program.(MP)

A search for patterns in grade retention rates across grades 1-12 to construct simulation research models is described in this paper. Aggregate data from Shepard and Smith (1989) on grade retention rates from 12 American states for the year 1979-80 and from 11 states for 1985-86 were examined for across-grade patterns, supplemented by Dade County…