Occasionally, students in elementary school are allowed to advance to the next grade even though they have not successfully completed the lower grade. Advocates of “social promotion” think that keeping a child in a grade for longer than a year hurts his or her development and self-esteem. Do you agree or disagree with the idea of social promotion? Use logical arguments and specific examples to support your opinion

There are differing viewpoints as to whether or not students in elementary

school

are allowed to advance to the

next

grade

even though they have not successfully completed the lower

grade

. Keeping students who are falling behind their

grade-level

in the same

grade

without a thoughtful

intervention

plan can be problematic.

Therefore

, I agree with the idea of social promotion because

grade

Suggestion

the grade

-level

retention

is a “wait-to-fail” model of remediation, and it is not a type of effective academic

intervention

. In promoting students’ academic success, the

school

should consider a

school

-wide proactive strategy rather than implementing

grade-level

retention

for students who are not meeting their benchmark standards.

For example

, the

school

may consider conducting (present participle) a

school

-wide screening at the beginning of each

school

year. The purpose of the screening is to identify students who are at-risk in certain academic areas at an early stage. If students are identified as at-risk, the

school

will provide additional academic supports that are based on the students’ needs,

such

as small group instruction or peer-tutoring program. Early identification along with a thoughtful

intervention

plan will increase the likelihood of students’ future

school

success.

In contrast

,

grade-level

retention

is a “wait-to-fail” model remediation, and perhaps, an ineffective form of

intervention

for the student. As a future educator, I disagree with

this

remediation strategy because it does not help the students academically rather it emotionally harms the students.

For instance

, students who experience academic stress without some appropriate supports may

further

develop mental health problems. Placing students who have been retained in the same

grade

with younger students contributes to the students’ feelings of failure. In the long run,

this

will impact their mental health.

Finally

, we want to see our students

to succeed

Suggestion

succeed

in

school

academically, socially, and behaviorally. To do

this

, we need to create and implement some antecedent interventions

instead

of keeping them in the same

grade

for a

longer

Suggestion

long

time.

Therefore

, social promotion is a better alternative to student success than

retention

.