by James Dreyer

Created on: November 03, 2009

There comes a time in everyone's life when tough decisions have to be made; and there is no tougher decision to make than to agree to have a child repeat a grade in school. But at times, it is the right decision to make and it is quite appropriate to have the child retained in a grade for another year.

Most Americans put a very high emphasis on getting an education. We start our children to school in Early Childhood Programs and then move them up to Pre-Kindergarten and then to Kindergarten and then finally to First Grade. We have Head Start Programs and Early Learning Centers and most day care facilities now offer "education" as part of their services. We start our children to school at an early age and we expect them to do well and to keep up with their peers and to graduate at a precalculated time.

Well, it just doesn't always work that way.

Students today begin to feel the pressure to do well early on in their educational endeavors. Parents want them to do well and to be at the top of the class. Teachers want them to do well and to score high on standardized tests. Administrators want students to perform well to make "their school" look good. Peers try to outdo each other. It's a pressure cooker from day one!

It is great to have high expectations and we should continue to encourage our students to do their best, but we have to realize that not all students are going to be geniuses and ultimately there will be only one Valedictorian. When the end of the school year arrives we have to realize, too, that someone will be at the top of the class and someone will be at the bottom. We must also concede that there may be those students who need to repeat the grade again.

Devastating news for some.

Let's be honest. The stigma of retention stings most at the lower levels, grades 1- 8. This is due to the fact that in most schools moving up to the next grade level is determined by a cumulative average of 70 or better in the core subject areas. For example, in the third grade a student who has an average of 65 in English/Language Arts, Reading, and Math is considered to have failed third grade and will be expected to repeat that grade.

When this happens, everyone at school knows and it can be quite devastating, and is what prompted this debate. It is at this point that parents, and many times teachers, are more concerned about the child's "social well-being" rather than the ability of the child to be successful at the next grade level.

At the High School level, promotion

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