ident Clinton proposed not just to hold back failing students but to do something about their failure. Such as remedial classrooms, identifying weakness before it is too late, strengthening learning opportunities and placing strong well-trained teachers in classrooms (Galston 35). If a student was asked in the nineteenth century what grade she or he was in they would probably say something along the lines of, "I sit in the fifth row" or "I have a blue reading book"(Mitzel 450). There were no grade levels, which is most likely where social promotion found its roots. Although Social Promotion is a newly arising concern today: it has a long history. The process of promoting students no matter what their academic success has been the standard in education thus far. For example in Chicago alone more than 40,000 children failed standardized tests" (Berg A2).Why are student allowed to slip though the fingers of education? "For one thing it is easier to promote the student from grade to grade than it is to deal seriously with that students learning problem" (Economist 33). This is the main reason for social promotion. It is the theory of "if it isn't looked at then it isn't there." Teachers and administrators do not want to accept failure on their own parts or the students. "This is a case where the educational needs of children take a back seat to administrative convenience" (Economist 34). Students keep getting promoted to the next grade without the knowledge necessary to survive. Often it is thought that if a student is promoted then they will catch up in the following grade. This sets the next class behind because it is filled with some students who have the skills and some that do not and should not be in that specific grade level. The next teacher is at a loss for what level to teach, should they teach down at the non-skilled students and risk losing the other students attention? "Social Promotion [occurs] to avoid damaging their se...
