Chicago Public Schools are considering a change to the process of holding students back. During the first two years of the pandemic, the school district did not hold any students back, due to the disruptions caused by remote learning and school closures. Now, long-term changes are being considered to help address declining rates in academic performance.
A new proposal would end the use of test scores when deciding whether to advance a student to the next grade. Instead, grades in science and social studies courses would be considered in their place, in addition to math and reading.
This proposal is part of a years-long trend of relaxing guidelines for grade promotion. Holding students back has been shown to harm rather than help their prospects, and can result in frustration and stigmatization for affected students, who are disproportionately Black and Latino. Additionally, retention has been correlated with increased risk that a student will drop out of school completely.
Focusing on a student’s course grades rather than standardized test scores also allows a school to support students with direct interventions that can more effectively address individual needs and avoid any surprises when it comes to test scoring.
Anna Jordan, Tutoring Coordinator
anna@testprepchicago.com
(312) 848-1266