Kids are advancing grades for no reason?

Question

My friend told me the other day that there are kids advancing grades even though they don't successfully complete the lower grade. He says the argument is that keeping students in the same grade for more than a year hurts their self-esteem and development.

Don't get it wrong, he's not the one arguing that point.
I think that advancing students even though they didn't complete their last grade for ANY reason is wrong.

What do you guys think?

It's not an advancement without all A's, it's the advancement of a student who's failed the grade (as far as I know) with D's or F's. Just to clear things up a bit.

Well. I'm glad to know at least the government at least gave people an option; to homeschool the child.

Answer 1

I agree, i am homeschooling my children for this reason - well that is one of the reasons.My son started his first year of school and was really struggling, he didn't know his alphabet and he wasn't grasping the concept of letters making up words and so on, he also had shocking number skills yet they were going to let him go through to the next grade, where all the other kids would be way ahead of him.This would hurt his self esteem more than staying behind because he would become the "dumb" kid in class, picked on by people because he was slower than everyone else.So now i home school and hes doing fabulously, learning what he needs to at the pace that he can handle. Thank god our government has the good sense to recognize homeschooling as a viable option for parents who are able to do so

Answer 2

I have a friend who is a child psychologist and she has research data that shows that marginal kids - that are held back end up being less successful in school for the remainder of their years, giving them less opportunities for their future, and have a higher rate of drop-out than SIMILAR KIDS who are ALLOWED to move forward and stay with their peers.

There can be a lifetime stigma attached to a kid who is held back, and he/she will always be treated like they are slow or stupid adn EXPECTED to fail - and many kids generally become the products of their environment. If they are moved along with their peers and allowed to move forward, they have a higher tendency towards wanting to learn and fit in.

Also, there is research data showing that by sending a kid back through the same grade - he will still fail on the bits he didn't learn the first time, and now you have wasted a year of this child's life - he may never be good at subtraction, but he could have moved up a grade in science and english, and instead he has been forced to stay back in order to re-learn something he may never have strong skills for, but he also missed out on learning an entire year's worth of material of things he COULD have excelled in!

Answer 3

I think homeschool is a great option. They don't advance until they know it. They advance at their own pace.

Our school system is graduating more and more illiterate people every year. It's been said that some students learn 'despite the school system.' That was my experience.

Answer 4

It's all about the parents, as only they should know what is best for the child.

Children advancing too early without support end up dropping out.
Children behind held back without support end up not being successful and with other issues.

Take your pick.

Answer 5

Public schools are so worthless today, I really don't care. And I hate to be so cynical about something so important, but I think kids would be better off watching tv all day than they are going to a typical public school.

Answer 6

im advancing grades although i dont get an A in all of them

Answer 7

I fully agree that the students shouldn't go. Of course it hurts them, but if they are not smart to apply themselves, they deserve to repeat.

Answer 8

well that's really weird maybe their rich and their parents use money to convince the school.