Why dont we FLUNK kids anymore?
Maybe some “New Age Educator” can tell us the answer. Is this what No Child Left Behind Means? That no matter how bad a kid does in fifth grade , he still gets to go to 6th grade? And eighth grade to ninth, and so on? My daughter finished eighth grade, and the school had a “promotion ceremony” like a graduation. I don’t know when they decided to celebrate every incremental acheivement in grades K-8, but I don’t remember having these things when I was a kid. They gave me my report card and a map to the high school and said “have a nice summer” But I digress…
When I was in school, Kids actually FLUNKED. They got held back, IF they didn’t know the material. Which is fine, that’s what its for, EVERY kid does not learn as fast as the next one. Some NEED to be held back, for their own good. It’s not a poor reflection on the teacher if some kids can’t learn as fast. I suspect this is where the problem lies, they don’t want to look bad, so they PASS ALL OF THEM.
In most states there is a test to get out of high school, but even then, they still let them in the ceremony. They need to test the kids when leaving grade school and middle school and NOT LET them move on if they don’t know the material proficiently. Holding kids back is not a bad thing, Letting them move on, when they are still struggling, is hurting them in the long run. This why most Americans are NOT smarter than a fifth grader !
SEE: Most-People-Are-Not-Smarter-Than-5th-Graders/
They should pass 100 fifth grade questions before getting an eighth or twelfth grade diploma. Maybe some educator can tell us why we don’t flunk kids. Some kids should be left behind, so they can catch up.
I hear ya! It has become the parent’s responsibility to go to the school and hold a child back. I know from experience because we did it with both of ours. Its all about statistics.