As we open a new school year, we must not lose sight of a major recent accomplishment by our students and their teachers. This past summer tens of thousands of 3rd, 6th, 8th and 9th grade Chicago Public School students attended mandatory summer school.
Rather than automatically promoting these students to the next grade, the current Chicago School Reform Board of Trustees has ended the practice of social promotion and required these students to demonstrate competency in reading and mathematics before proceeding to the next level. During the summer, each child received intensive instruction in reading and math, based on a rigorous, prescribed lesson plan.
A recent Tribune news story about the summer school program focused almost exclusively on one or two grades and the percentage of students who will be repeating a grade. Overall, more than 50 percent of the students attending summer school have earned the right to be promoted. The remaining students will be repeating a grade or moving to a transitional school where they will receive ongoing support.
By focusing on two grades and the percentage of students who will have to repeat a grade, however, this story misses two important points.
First, because of their hard work over the summer, more than 18,000 students raised their performance to a level that will prepare them to succeed in the next grade. This shows what can be accomplished through effort and hard work.
Second, even those students who did not meet the promotion criteria showed dramatic increases in test scores. Overall, in just six weeks, 9th graders gained almost 1 1/2 years in reading and one year and two months in math; 8th graders gained almost a full year in math and eight months in reading. Sixth graders gained seven months in reading and six months in math, and 3rd graders gained 4 1/2 months in reading and almost seven months in math.
Some suggest that requiring students to achieve before passing to the next grade hurts self-esteem. We believe self-esteem is irretrievably damaged when a child never learns to read, write and do math and graduates with no prospects for higher education or employment. All the children who worked hard and made the grade this summer, as well as those who will have to repeat a grade but made progress, will realize long-term self-esteem.
