This is long, but if you are a parent--hell, a resident--in Oklahoma, I hope you will take time to read this and contact your elected officials accordingly. Its from my mom--I know a lot of you had her as your teacher or your kids had her as a principal. Janet Barresi and Maey Fallin are gutting our public schools. “As a veteran teacher and administrator of Oklahoma public schools for over thirty years, as a grandparent of current school children, and as a regular voter, I was appalled by Governor Fallin’s recent veto of HB 2625. Public education works as a public institution only when all public stakeholders work together for the good of each child. To exclude the most important stakeholder, the parent, from such an important decision as grade promotion goes against the foundation of our public school system. Furthermore, the research over time has spoken consistently about the effects of student retention. Researchers have concluded that promoted students had higher academic achievement, better personal adjustment, and more positive attitudes toward school than retained students did ( Holmes & Matthews, 1984). In studies between 1990 and 1999, most of the comparisons showed no significant differences between promoted and retained students on measures of achievement or personal and social adjustment. In those studies that did show a difference, the results favored the promoted students, especially on measures of achievement (ASCD, 2014). Researchers in 2005 found that 3rd graders struggled during the repeated year, had higher rates of special education placement, and two years later showed no advantage over those who had been promoted (Roderick & Nagaoka, 2005). Retention can increase the likelihood that a student will drop out of school. Students who drop out are five times more likely to have been retained than those who graduate (National Center for Education Statistics, 2006). Overall the preponderance of evidence argues that students who repeat a grade are no better off, and are sometimes worse off, than if they had been promoted with their classmates. Lastly, Roderick & Nagaoka (2005) argue that retention under high-stakes testing presumes the problem lies with the student, not with the school. If the goal of retention is to provide an opportunity for students to catch up, the quality and appropriateness of their academic experiences is likely to be the determining factor. After all, why should repeating the same experience produce a different result? I ask that you take a stand for parents and student and override Governor Fallin’s veto of HB 2625.” Thanks.
Posted on: Wed, 21 May 2014 18:13:08 +0000
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