Delineates three distinct but overlapping functions of kindergarten: (1) to minister to the nature and needs of four- to six-year-olds; (2) to look forward to the nature and needs of children as they develop through the sixth year; and (3) to look backward to experiences and learning in the home. (NH)

This article identifies as problems both social promotion and minimum competency decisions. The author analyzes the need for attention to individual differences and proposes that educational excellence within a compulsory system can be achieved only when standards are adjusted in accordance with individual differences. (MM)

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 2004 established a requirement that all states develop and submit to the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) a performance plan designed to advance the state from its current level of compliance with the statutory and regulatory requirements of the law…

Despite advances in primary school enrollment and completion in recent years, school completion in rural areas of Guatemala is low. The problem is especially severe among indigenous female students, where only about one in eight completes primary school. In 1997, the Guatemalan government launched an ambitious program designed to assist poor…

Many teachers in Tennessee believe that the primary causes of low scores on state mandated competency tests are the lack of encouragement at home and social promotion; "too much TV, not enough supervision on the part of parents, poor study habits and lack of motivation and self-discipline" are also cited. (CM)

Two aspects of age segregation in American educational history are traced--segregation of children from adults due to expansion of public education in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and increasing stratification of children by age within schools due to the practice of age-grading. (IAH)

Achievement and ability of 135 retained elementary school students (grade 6) in Canada were compared with those of 103 matched continually promoted students. Reading comprehension, cognitive ability, and achievement test scores indicate that grade retention is ineffective in improving achievement and ability. (SLD)

Studied what types of parental involvement are effective as students make the transition to high school; also sought to elaborate on the role parents play in connecting their children to desirable peer networks during this transition. Identified five forms of parental involvement that helped students succeed. (Author)

This publication, based on a 1991 Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) "Idea Exchange" meeting, addresses the issue of enhancing minority transition into graduate education, and provides an in-depth look at several types of institutional partnership programs involving universities, corporations, or research laboratories, designed to encourage…

The student promotion policy for Chicago public schools is delineated in this guide. The promotion policy in both elementary and secondary schools is described as consisting of three dimensions: (1) instructional program; (2) intervention and monitoring activities; and (3) assessment, testing, and program evaluation. Components of each of these…

This report contains the results of a 1986 public opinion poll concerning public schools. This annual survey, using a modified probability sample of the United States population, posed questions on the following topics: (1) the most important problems with which schools must deal; (2) drug use in schools; (3) grading of schools and their teachers;…

Same-year and same-grade comparisons were made of a matched sample of students who had been retained in kindergarten for a second year and who had been promoted after 1 year from kindergarten within the Pasco County (Florida) School System. Retained subjects (n=34) consisted of kindergarten students enrolled in the system's developmental…

Revised guidelines for the administration of Texas bilingual education and English as a second language (ESL) programs for limited-English-proficient (LEP) public school students deal with two issues: (1) the amount of instructional time to be provided in the student's primary language and in English, and (2) the relationship between instruction…

This is the final report of an annual Mississippi study, conducted for the first time in February of 1984, which provides baseline data for measuring improvement of school practices in key arenas. Its primary goals were to identify the extent to which children master one level of course work before being advanced to the next level, to determine…

This publication focuses on the retention/promotion debate regarding failing and low-achieving students. An introductory essay describes the inherent limitation in the research done on this issue--the impossibility of obtaining an appropriate control group--and suggests that the retention/promotion quandary can best be resolved by accommodating…