Responding to national debates about educational standards and a presidential initiative to require that students master grade-level skills before promotion to the next level, the Sky Prairie School District* is considering a change in its promotion policy.

Currently, all elementary-age children are promoted to the next grade regardless of their classroom performance.  Middle- and high-school students are also promoted, unless they fail at least two of their core courses (science, math, English, social studies); however, frequent exceptions are made so that students failing two of the core courses also typically advance with their age cohorts.

Under the new policy being considered, elementary children will be tested annually: those who do not perform adequately on nationally standardized tests will have to repeat their present grade.  Exceptions will be eliminated at the middle- and high-school levels, and students who fail even one of the core courses will be held back if they receive a “D” on any of their other core courses.

As a teacher, administrator, or counselor in the Sky Prairie district, prepare a written analysis of the issues involved in the proposed change, and make a recommendation to the school district based on that analysis.
 

* Sky Prairie is a small, rural community in the eastern Dakotas, with approximately 100 students in grades K-12.
 

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