Social Promotion in Middle Schools: Effects and Alternatives

Introduction and Statement of the Problem

Many concerns exist that schools are performing a great injustice by passing students onto the next grade level when those students have failed to meet the basic requirements for the current grade level. Social promotion — the practice of advancing underachieving students to the next grade regardless of academic mastery — is being applied to middle school students with little regard for how it may impact their future success. This practice sets a precedent for some students, who come to assume that they do not need to make any real effort and will still be moved to the next grade without consequence. Such a message suggests that accountability in middle schools is unimportant, when in actuality it is critical to student success.

The purpose of this research study is to identify and evaluate the effects of social promotion among middle school students. This includes the social, psychological, and academic factors influenced by the practice. The study also discusses the factors involved in employing a variety of alternative techniques to eliminate social promotion as a means of grade advancement.

Administrators, teachers, and parents of five middle schools in the South Bend Community School Corporation will utilize a survey instrument to identify their perceptions of social promotion. Approximately 50 middle school teachers, 25 administrators, and 50 parents of middle school students will participate in the research study. Parents will be selected randomly and will receive surveys by mail at their homes; a self-addressed, stamped envelope will be included with each survey for parents to mail in their responses. Teachers and administrators will be selected randomly and will receive surveys by campus mail. Surveys will be distributed during the second semester of the 2002–2003 academic year. A comparison of the results will be conducted using feedback from all three groups to identify and evaluate the effects of social promotion.

This study is limited to five middle schools in the South Bend area, utilizing a relatively small study sample involving 125 participants. Therefore, the results will not reflect the potential outcomes of a larger population sample. In addition, the study relies on only one type of instrument — the survey — which may limit the potential outcomes, since other instruments exist that may provide a more accurate measure of the results.

Review of Related Literature

Social promotion is a common practice in schools across the United States. Students are automatically passed from one grade to the next without achieving mastery of required material and are often unprepared to perform adequately at the next grade level (U.S. Department of Education, p. 1). As a result, many students fall behind and ultimately graduate unprepared for college, lacking the skills necessary to gain employment. It is widely held that students should be required to meet rigorous academic standards by making a concerted effort in all schoolwork. Low student achievement should not be obscured by social promotion; students must acquire academic skills and meet standards as early as possible in their school careers.

Studies have demonstrated that students progress at different rates. Some students will never meet the high standards expected of them, and their place in a mainstream classroom is questionable at best. Deschenes, Cuban, and Tyack argue that "the differences between schools and these students can be thought of as a 'mismatch' between the structure of schools and the social, cultural, or economic backgrounds of students identified as problems" (p. 525). For these students, meeting strict academic standards is often impossible, and they are left to struggle in an environment ill-suited to their needs. Those who do not benefit from the current educational system are not likely to profit from summer school, additional homework, or retention. They must receive specialized instruction in an environment where individualized attention is paid to their specific needs.

Students in the middle school grades experience many difficulties beyond their academic pursuits. They typically undergo the physical and emotional changes associated with puberty, and peer pressure is heightened during this stage of life, making academics often the last thing on a student's mind. Therefore, the importance of academic achievement in the middle grades must be greatly emphasized during this period. According to Kathy Christie, "There is no more frustrating level of education for parents than the middle grades. No other period is so marked with contradictions. Parents who worry about the flashes of anger, belligerence, and unreliability in their adolescent child one moment might be reassured by the compassion, intelligence, and glimpses of maturity in the next…many parents are concerned that middle schools have been so focused on the developmental needs of adolescents that they have made academics secondary" (p. 1). Unfortunately, this reality exists in school districts across the United States, and consequently, students are unprepared to enter high school even as their teachers promote them to the next grade. Steps must be taken to evaluate current standards and promotion systems to better prepare students for the challenges ahead.

It has also been demonstrated that reliance on standardized tests as the primary measure of academic achievement contributes to social promotion. In many instances, a test score is the main criterion for grade promotion, while other significant factors are ignored. A test score alone does not provide an accurate assessment of a student's true classroom performance. Hartke states that "test scores should always be buttressed by other relevant information about the student's knowledge and skills, such as grades, teacher recommendations, and extenuating circumstances" (p. 23). Clearly, additional techniques must be used to accommodate the full complexity of academic standards and student performance.

Academic and Social Factors Influencing Social Promotion

One of the most important factors in preventing school failure is the ability to read effectively at an early age. According to the Southern Regional Education Board, "the fundamental problem with the recent debate over whole language vs. phonics lies in trying to identify one standard program of reading instruction that will work for all students. In fact, any reading program needs to include both phonics instruction and elements of whole language. Some children will master phonics quickly and easily; others will learn to read only if they receive much more intensive phonics instruction than is necessary or desirable for most of their classmates" (p. 5). Students who experience reading problems at an early age are likely to carry those difficulties into later grades and will fall further behind their classmates in all subject areas. These problems must not be ignored, and social promotion must not be used to paper over them. Classrooms become breeding grounds for failure when student problems are not recognized and addressed in their early stages.

According to critics, one of the primary structural causes of social promotion is the outdated grade structure used in the United States. William Romey argues that "given the wide differences in developmental stages of children at any given age, it is ludicrous for schools to use chronological age to place children into groups that move in lockstep on yearlong schedules…intellectual development is a continuous process that demands attention to the individual rather than to artificially constructed averages, groups, and standards measured by fiscal years" (p. 632). In addition, the following social and cultural assumptions are recognized as potential influences on school failure and subsequent social promotion (Deschenes, Cuban, & Tyack, pp. 535–539):

Many assumptions exist regarding the causes of social promotion, but no single cause can be attributed to the growth of the problem in today's schools.

Social promotion can also be intensified by the importance of social acceptance in the middle school grades. Some students, even at an early age, experience social anxiety and fear of social situations, which may strongly influence their academic performance. They may feel isolated and uncomfortable in interactions with peers and even teachers (Strahan, p. 347). As a result, their academic skills may be limited by their fears. Although such students may not be prepared to advance to the next grade, they are sometimes promoted regardless of their emotional or academic readiness. This may produce long-lasting effects as they fall further and further behind upon entering high school. The home environment is another factor that influences socialization. According to Ferguson, Jimerson, and Dalton, "the best clinical predictors of social maladjustment in children are home socialization factors…early social competencies themselves may be transformed into academic, school-based competencies such as literacy and other positive educational outcomes" (p. 329). McCoy and Reynolds further note that "the transition to adolescence may alter personal perceptions of competence among low-achieving children" (p. 293), demonstrating that social skills have a profound impact on both academic performance and the likelihood of social promotion.

Conclusion

The literature reviewed and discussed in this paper provides a thorough background into the problems and effects of social promotion on middle school students. The evidence suggests that automatically advancing students without academic mastery creates academic, social, and psychological consequences that compound over time. Addressing these consequences requires a multifaceted approach: improving teacher quality, establishing clear and attainable grade-level standards, developing meaningful alternatives such as targeted summer school programs, and recognizing the social and cultural factors that complicate achievement for many students. The proposed survey study involving teachers, administrators, and parents from five South Bend middle schools will contribute further empirical perspectives to this ongoing discussion.

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