Mathetude » Holding Back Young Students: Is Program a Gift or a Stigma?

Holding Back Young Students: Is Program a Gift or a Stigma?

nitajo sumitted ago via http://www.nytimes.com (Views: 153, Clicks: 3) View Story

With the increasing emphasis on standardized testing over the past decade, large urban school systems have famously declared an end to so-called social promotion among youngsters lacking basic skills. Last year, New York flunked 6 percent of its first graders, and Chicago 7.7 percent.

2 comments | Tags: special classes transition classes low-performing kindergarteners achievement gap “special-needs class” | Topic: Education Policy BAD >_<

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#1 by nitajo posted ago

+1 apples

Stripped of required social studies and science lessons, Gift of Time classes give teachers extra time to focus on basic skills, allowing them to spend several days on a single topic if needed. A reading specialist works with the students every day, and a speech therapist comes in every other week.

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#2 by Starla posted ago

+0 apples

If the main downside to making kids repeat grade 1 is social stigma, why not (not as a total solution, but a partial one) sort out a lot of the problems BEFORE grade 1? Have a test to enter grade 1, and give the people who aren't prepared for it an extra program before grade 1, so that when they enter grade 1 they seem like any other student and there's no social stigma and nobody need ever know. Most people seem to change schools for grade 1 (or start school at grade 1) -- why not just have kindergartens more separated from grade 1, with remedial education available before grade 1 and also separate from grade 1, and then nobody will know the difference when grade 1 arrives.

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