Promotion and Retention at the Eighth Grade

1
Promotion and Retentionat the Eighth Grade

• Superintendents Report
• May 2003

2
 Legal requirements

• Education Code section 48070.5, Pupil Promotion
  and Retention, January 1999
• School Boards are required to develop and
  implement policies for promotion and retention of
  pupils at
• grades 2-5
• and at the end of middle school

3
 Legal requirements

• Education Code section 48070.5, Pupil Promotion
  and Retention, January 1999
• Criteria must include
• Grades 2-3 Language Arts
• Grades 4-8 Language Arts and Math

4
Board Policy and Administrative Directive

• Pursuant to Ed Code section 48070.5, the Board
  adopted Board Policy IH-EA, and the district
  implemented Administrative Directive IH-EA in
  October 1999.
• Phase in plan for grade levels was
  established. 1999-2000             Grades
  2-3 2000-2001             Grades
  4 2001-2002             Grade 5 2002-2003       
        Grade 8

5
Implementation of IH-EA for Grades 2-5

• Fall
• Notify all parents each Fall of Promotion
  Criteria
• Notify parent of students At-Risk of Retention
• November-April
• Provide supplementary before and after school
  interventions
• Involve parents in the process
• Inform parents of progress or continued need

6
Implementation of IH-EA forGrades 2-5

• May
• Inform parents of promotion or retention decision
• Right to appeal and process for appeal
• June
• Parents informed of decision
• Opportunity to appeal
• July
• Four weeks of Mandatory Retention classes
• Due to smooth and effective implementation, the
• pass rate by the end of the summer intervention
  program has been excellent.

7
Eighth Grade Retention Task Force

• Convened in second Semester of 2001-2002
• Representative group from all 4 Quadrants
• Middle school and High school Classroom teachers
• Teacher Union representative
• Principals and Vice Principals
• Parents
• Met over a period of a year and a half to develop
  a proposal
• Read research
• Visited model programs
• Spoke with districts implementing 8th grade
  retention, including
• El Rancho, LAUSD, Long Beach, and West
  Covina
• Considered feedback from all HLPUSD middle and
  high schools on proposed program

8
Eighth Grade Retention Task Force

• Concerns
• Age, social concerns, research
• Alternatives available and used by other
  districts
• Program Curriculum, location
• Findings
• Legally required
• Consistent with accountability movement
• Must address the special needs of retained eighth
  graders

9
 
8th Grade Promotion Criteria

• Passing grade in English
• Passing grade in Math
• PLUS, one of the following
• Passing score on 8th Grade district Summative
  Reading Assessment
• Passing score on 8th Grade district Summative
  Math Assessment
• No more than one F in the fifth grading period
• Separate criteria for English Learners at early
  levels of acquisition, and Special Education
  students

10
Grade 8Steps Taken to Involve Parents

• By Fall Conference Period
• Identified eighth grade students at-risk of
  retention by criteria
• Notified parents in writing of students
  identified as at-risk of retention at end of
  grade 8. The notice included suggestions of how
  parents can assist their children in attaining
  grade-level promotion criteria

11
Grade 8Steps Taken to Involve Parents

• By Second Week of February
• Reviewed student assessment information to
  identify any additional students at-risk of
  retention
• Notified parents of any students identified above
• Updated parents of students at-risk of retention
  concerning current eligibility for promotion or
  retention

12
Grade 8Steps Taken to Involve Parents

• Intervention and On-Going Monitoring
• Principal and teachers monitored to determine if
  additional students are at-risk of retention
• Notification of supplemental instruction
• c. 40 Hours before/after school or Saturdays per
  student have been offered to students at-risk of
  retention

13
Grade 8Steps Taken to Involve Parents

• Decision to Retain by the End of May
• Teachers will update parents of identified
  at-risk of retention students  
• A school Promotion Criteria Review meeting which
  includes the parents, teachers and other
  appropriate staff will be held for each student
  at-risk of retention
• Parents will be informed of right to appeal
• No more than 5 days for parent to file an appeal
• No more than 5 days for principal to respond to
  parent
• No more than 5 days for parent to re-appeal to
  Chief Academic Officer
• No more than 5 days for Chief Academic Officer to
  respond to parent

14
Failure to Meet Promotion Criteria

• Exclusion from the promotion ceremony
• Attend 6 week mandatory summer school
• Opportunity to meet criteria
• May go on to ninth grade if met.
• If not met, the pupil will be retained in 8th
  grade

15
Accountability for Students

• Retention is most effective when it is
  implemented as early as possible in a students
  career.
• No student retained in an earlier grade will be
  retained in eighth grade as well.
• Students at grade 8 will be required to pass the
  High School Exit Exam (HSEE)
• More effective to retain these students at 8th
  grade
• Already more than one year behind
• Will enter 9th grade prepared for high school
  work

16
Possible Impact

• Criteria for promotion are
• Almost identical to criteria for
  non-participation in the promotion ceremony
• Well known in the community

17
Why the large difference between June 02 and May
22, 2003?

• While 180 students did not participate in the 02
  promotion ceremony,
• We dont know how many were at-risk of
  non-participation on May 22, 2002.
• Experience shows us
• Number of at-risk will decrease as ceremony
  approaches
• Based on grades 2-5, a high percentage of
  students will master the promotion criteria by
  the end of the summer intervention program in
  July 03

18
Recommendations for Program

• Intensive literacy program
• Reading
• Mathematics
• Counseling
• Parent education and participation
• Program specifically designed to meet needs of
  retained students
• Not a repeat of 8th grade
• On-going Student Goal Setting
• Possibility of access to 9th grade curriculum at
  mid-year

19
Location of Program

• After reviewing space availability,
• rooms have been earmarked for
• 8th grade retained students.
• Curriculum, instruction and interventions
• are being planned and will be ready for August
  2003.

20
Next Steps

• We will
• keep parents of students at-risk of retention in
  8th grade informed of the timeline and criteria
  for promotion and retention.
• Make sure that parents of these at-risk students
  are knowledgeable of the Board directives
  regarding right to appeal
• Provide high quality interventions in the summer
  that enable many students to reach promotion
  criteria
• Continue to plan programs and interventions for
  8th grade retained students to enter in September
• Make sure that adequate materials are ordered to
  be ready for September.
• Provide Board with updates as they develop.