Summer-School Bummer

When summer school begins Thursday, thousands of kids will be absent.

That’s because Mayor de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña are letting them off the hook, promoting them to the next grade without requiring summer catch-up classes, even if they’re not ready.

As reformer Jeremiah Kittredge notes, the number of kids in summer school fell under de Blasio to just 18,334, from 32,000 in 2013. He blames de Blasio & Co. for reviving “social promotion” — sending unprepared kids on to the next grade instead of having them repeat the grade or even attend summer school.

Kittredge says the practice stems from the city’s decision in 2014 to ease requirements for promotion. Schools now focus more on teachers’ opinions and less on test scores.

The upshot? More kids are moved ahead with no solid evidence they’re ready. And despite the fact Fariña vowed “consistent levels of retention with this new approach.”

“After promising [not to] return to an era of social promotion, when struggling students were merely passed from grade to grade, Mayor de Blasio has deceptively halved the number of students receiving the critical summer-school education that they need,” said Kittredge. Kids will suffer.

Why’s the city doing it? Because it makes it easier for schools to get floundering kids out of the system quicker. That’s why social promotion was common for years — until Mayor Mike Bloomberg rolled it back.

Of course, schools under de Blasio have long resorted to using phony accomplishments to pass kids along. On Sunday, The Post’s Sue Edelman reported on grade-fixing at Urban Action Academy.

And de Blasio & Co. brag of graduation rates of 70 percent, even as kids’ scores show nearly two-thirds aren’t ready for college or a job.

Yes, thousands of students may be happy to skip summer classes this year. But they’ll pay a steep price for it — when their “diplomas” prove worthless.