Development, implementation, and effectiveness of a promotion and remediation policy in a rural school system

This study examines the process used to develop a policy which provides specific criteria for promotion from one grade level to the next and the effects implementation of the policy had on subsequent achievement scores of students. The policy, developed during the 1978-79 academic year, was implemented in the Fall of 1979.

While there was no written documentation of anticipated outcomes of the policy, interviews with individuals involved in the process indicated an expectation that students, who were required to meet the guidelines, would complete elementary grades with basic skills necessary for success in high school.

To determine if implementation of the policy was effective in improving achievement in basic skills scores of students on the Total Reading composite of the Metropolitan Achievement Test at the end of sixth grade were obtained for Spring 1981 and Spring 1983. Comparison of these scores showed no changes between 1981 and 1983 for students in thirteen elementary schools.

To determine if students who were retained showed evidence of achievement nearer their potential or nearer that of average students for their grade than prior to their retention, standard scores for Reading or Total Reading were compared for retained students and their grade level peers. It was found that the retained students' performance did not approach levels predicted for their ability nor did it approach the average performance of their current grade level.

Investigation of the pattern of retention for the school years 1978-1983 indicated a change in pattern in all schools in the Spring of 1980. This change was shown as an increase in the percentage of retentions in all but one school, but the increase was not maintained. The percentage of students retained by 1983 was the same as it had been in 1978.

It was concluded that the policy, implemented in 1980, was not an effective means of achieving an increase in basic skills among students in King County.