School promotion concerns raised in city schools

Brittanye Blake, The Valdosta Daily Times, Ga.
·4 min read

May 16—VALDOSTA — City school board members raised concerns for promotion and retention during a meeting earlier this month.

Tyra Howard, Valdosta Board of Education chair, and board member Justin Crenshaw addressed concerns about students who perform well being placed versus promoted to their next grade level.

"Parents are concerned because their children make As and Bs but they are being told that they will be placed versus promoted to the next grade," Howard said.

Dr. David Cole, assistant superintendent for teaching and learning, reviewed the promotion and retention policy.

"The single determining factor on a child's success throughout their education career ... is their independent reading levels," Cole said. "The criteria is that if they can read at mastery level within the stretch band at grade level they can do the work independently."

Georgia Department of Education defines placement and promotion as:

Placement: "The assignment of a student to a specific grade level based on the determination that such placement will most likely provide the student with instruction and other services needed to succeed and progress to the next higher level of academic achievement."

Promotion: "The assignment of a student to a higher grade level based on the student's achievement of established criteria in the current grade."

Cole provided data and examples of how curriculum has improved at kindergarten and first-grade levels to increase reading proficiency in upper grade levels.

"If a child has to be placed based on reading proficiency, then we have to make sure there are interventions in the subsequent year to support that child," Cole said.

One parent shared the board members concerns during public participation.

The parent said his seventh-grade daughter received a letter that she made honor roll following a notice that she would be placed versus promoted to the next grade. The parent said it is "ridiculous" to place someone who makes honor roll, adding the "Place" designation will follow her through school on her permanent record.

He asked the board to review the policy and consider changing the requirement to place versus promote all students.

Here is Valdosta City Schools Board Policy IHE: Promotion and Retention:

PROMOTION AND RETENTION OF STUDENTS IN GRADES K-8

The Board hereby authorizes the district Teaching and Learning Department to establish procedures or regulations for local promotion criteria to be used in making decisions concerning promotion, placement or retention of students. Such procedures or regulations must be approved by the Superintendent or designee(s) and shall provide for the following:

1. Each teacher shall be responsible for determining through a variety of assessments whether a student appears to be on grade level or achieving at a level which, with accelerated, differentiated, or additional instruction or interventions, would allow the student to perform at grade level by the conclusion of the subsequent school year.

2. Where the teacher believes the student is not performing at such level, the teacher must implement remediation efforts as set forth in regulations or procedures.

3. A mechanism shall be established whereby a school level team will review a student's performance prior to any decision to retain the student.

4. Prior to a student's retention, the student's parents must be notified of the possibility of retention and given the opportunity to attend a meeting to discuss the matter.

5. For any student receiving special education or related services, the Individual Education Plan Committee shall serve as the placement committee.

6. A school level promotion and retention decision is final and subject to appeal only at the discretion of the superintendent or designee. The following local promotion criteria will be used for students: Kindergarten: Valdosta City Schools uses Georgia Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills aligned performance tasks. For each learning progression, students will be assigned a performance level indicating the extent to which

they are progressing toward grade-level expectation. Performance levels include: (a) Beginning, (b) Emerging, (c) Developing, (d) Demonstrating, and (e) Exceeding. The district's goals are for students to perform at the demonstrating performance level across all progressions by the end of kindergarten and to demonstrate mastery of a minimum reading proficiency level as determined by the district. First and Second Grades: 1. Final grade average of 70 or above in English/language arts and mathematics. 2. Mastery of a minimum reading proficiency level as determined by the district. Third through Fifth Grades: Board Policy Manual Valdosta City Schools 1. Final grade average of 70 or above in all four academic subjects: mathematics, English/language arts, science and social studies. 2. Mastery of a minimum reading proficiency level as determined by the district.

SIXTH THROUGH EIGHTH GRADES:

1. Final grade average of 70 or above in all four academic subjects: English/ language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. 2. A student must have an average of 70 or above in 3 out of 4 connection grading segments. 3. Mastery of a minimum reading proficiency level as determined by the district.