More pupils move ahead
FEWER CITY KIDS will be heading to summer school Wednesday and fewer are being held back — all thanks to easier promotion policies in the public schools.
City teachers are requiring 16,577 public school students in grades three to eight to attend summer school classes that start Wednesday — down from 17,840 kids last year and a high of 32,205 in 2013.
City schools also held back just 0.6% of students — fewer than 1,800 — in those grades in 2016, the most recent year for which data are available. That’s down significantly from 0.9% of students — or roughly 7,955 kids — held back in 2015.
City and state education officials eased promotion criteria for struggling students in 2014, causing fewer kids to be held back and fewer to enroll in summer school ever since.
But city Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña said the city is still looking out for kids over the summer, citing a decision to lengthen some summer educational programs by up to two hours a day.
“Our high-quality Summer in the City programming — including two additional instructional hours each day — will support our students,” Fariña said of the shift.
“We’re promoting rigorous year-round learning, high standards and expectations, and continuing to expand enrichment,” Fariña added.
State law enacted in April 2014 requires that state exams not be the sole or primary factor in any student promotion decisions for grades 3 to 8.
De Blasio administration officials modified the city’s criteria for promotions to reflect the change in state law, moving away from tougher policies favored by former Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
The shift was prompted at least in part by widespread pushback against state reading and math tests by educators and families who felt they were too difficult and given too much importance in the public schools.
Instead of relying on the tests as the primary criteria for grade promotions, city schools began using other assessments, including a review of kids’ classroom work conducted by teachers.
Passing rates rose and the numbers of kids sent to summer school fell immediately once the change was enacted for the 2013-14 school year.
Critics charge that the change simply makes it easier for kids to progress from one grade to the next, but city Education Department spokeswoman Toya Holness denies that the city has lowered the bar for students.
“In accordance with state law, promotion for Department of Education students in grades 3 to 8 is overseen by superintendents, teachers and principals, and is based on a comprehensive and careful review of their classroom work in addition to their scores on state exams,” Holness said.