Theories Of Standards-Based Education Reform

In viewing our school data one of the first things that caught my eye was the fact that in third grade we had a 19.8% retention rate (Texas Education Agency, 2014). That particular grade level had the highest retention rate in the entire school. Looking further at the data, I discovered that during the 2013-2014

Regardless of the type of institution, retention is one of the biggest issues that colleges encounter with the Hispanic/Latino population. The question has been posed for quite some time: What can colleges do to, not only keep these students on campus, but also to prepare them for the challenges they may face when transferring to a four-year school? Various programs on college campuses across the state of California have been implemented in the past couple of decades to help address this question. The existence of such programs, like Educational Opportunity Program (EOP), contribute to the academic success of the

“Unintended Educational and Social Consequences of the No Child Left Behind Act” Journal of Gender, Race and Justice, no. 2, Winter 2009, pp. 311. EBSCOhost. In this peer-reviewed academic journal article, Liz Hollingworth, an associate professor in the College of Education at the University of Iowa, explores the history of school reform in the United States, and the unintended consequences of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Hollingworth states that the great promise of NCLB is that schools will focus on the education of low-achieving students, reducing the gap in student academic achievement between White students and African-American, Hispanic, and Native American student populations. Hollingworth states that an unintended consequence of NCLB was that teachers and school administrators had to shift curriculum focus in an effort to raise test scores, but in some cases, they had to also abandoned thoughtful, research-based classroom practices in exchange for test preparation. NCLB also affected teachers, highly qualified teachers left high-poverty schools, with low performance rates especially those schools where teacher salaries are tied to student academic performance. Hollingworth concludes her article by stating “we need to be wary of policy innovations that amount to simply rearranging the deck chairs on the

The effects of the implementation of the Common Core Standard continues to affect students testing scores and, as a result, the demand for more and more volunteers from the Book Buddies & Classroom Book Buddies program. With more students not meeting the required reading proficiency level, particularly, low-income and minority students, the need for this intervention-type of program is in greater demand than ever. In the current program year, the program has experienced over 30% growth than anticipated. The Book Buddies program is stretched beyond its resources to meet the need of children struggling with reading, the demand for the program from schools and parents.

retention rates, however it still does allow for a summer break for students to aid their families

Third grade is the last year of education that students are taught to read. In 2002, forty-two percent to third graders in Polk County failed the reading portion of the FCAT. This very clearly shows that most of Florida’s, or at least Polk County’s reading problems begin in elementary school. The blame for this can go to schools that have sub-par reading programs. It can alternatively be attributed to parents who don’t take the time to read with their children or hire tutors to help them when they need it. Most likely both are at blame, but only the schools seem to be putting forth an effort for changes. Florida’s parents need to understand that they are very capable of teaching their children to read.

According to the National Association of School Psychologists (2003), each year, schools retain as many as 15% or more than 2.4 million American students. Other studies found that between 30% and 50% of all students experience retention at least once by the time they are freshman in high school (Robertson, 2001). For students in urban districts, the estimated retention rate is approximately 50%. The National Center for Education Statistics (2006), estimated that the number of students retained at least once in their school career ranged from 10% to 20%... Of those retained, black students experienced retention more than twice as much as white students, and boys twice as much as girls. The controversial practice of grade retention is a concern

Cate came into kindergarten already reading because of the incredible support of her fours teachers. Learning was fun for her and she loved going to school. Given her abilities, my husband and I wanted her to be challenged to move forward as she was able. However, the critically decisive factors that compelled us to choose Second Pres kindergarten were its developmentally appropriate curriculum and individualized education. We believe without the experience of Second Pres kindergarten, our oldest, Holly Jane wouldn’t be a third grader reading

As a result of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) states are required to annually test students in 3rd through 8th grade to determine whether schools are making adequate yearly progress (AYP). Schools that fail to meet the standard are required to enter into improvement programs (Kubiszyn & Borich, 2012). The threat of a school being placed on an improvement program makes a high-stakes testing (HST) program like NCLB controversial because failure brings federal sanctions. The effort to avoid federal sanctions has resulted in states lowering the required passing scores for students and accusations of “teaching to the test” (Kubiszyn & Borich, 2012). Opponents of HST argue that “teaching to the test” has raised test scores without teaching the critical thinking skills that are most necessary in the real

Students who were retained in elementary school hold a low high school graduation rate because of it. Retention can affect a students education up until college, without them knowing (Andrew, 2014). Despite the negative outcomes, most teachers retain students because they think it is for their academic or social benefit. However, retaining students held the opposite affect; students who were retained did not benefit. They could have used exposure to the next environment as an achievement gain while benefiting from next level education strategies, achieving the same outcomes as their peers. Keeping children in age appropriate classrooms hold higher benefits than retention, by avoiding students re-learning the same curriculum again when schools do not have the proper funding to adequately reach the needs of struggling students (Hong & Yu, 2007). Promoting students to the next grade exposes them to learning strategies that might reach their need that could not be met in the previous grade. Grade retention as an education intervention plan holds no significant positive affects to student

Conclusion: In conclusion it is evident that student retention is dependent on the personal success of

Many colleges and universities throughout the United States and several other countries face a common problem. Student retention is a growing problem across the nation for all ethnic groups and all ages. Each individual who chooses to drop out of school has their own personal reasons as to why they do. However, many drops out can be completely avoided. When students drop out they are not clearly thinking about how it’s going to affect their future, the future of their children and even grandchildren. Although there are several reasons as to why students drop out of school, we will be exploring a few as it relates to why student retention is a growing problem.

     Grade retention, better known as “staying back”, “being held back” or “repeating”, has been the topic of much debate within the educational system. The controversy which surrounds this long-standing issue has been reinforced by such topics as the recent endorsement of academic standards. Research indicates that “the rate of retention has increased by approximately 40% in the last 20 years with as many as 15% of all American students held back each year and 30-50% held back at least once before ninth grade” (Dawson, 1998). These discouraging statistics pose copious problems within a school system. The difficulties can be appreciated at the organizational level, as well as inside the classroom and, most

Lorrie Shepard conducted a study on the effects of retention, its' relationship to the drop out rate. The 1992 controlled study showed that students who repeated a year were 20 to 30 percent more likely to drop out of school. Another study conducted by the Association of California Urban School Districts, found that students who were retained twice had a probability of dropping out of school by nearly 100 percent.

Learning to read is one of the most foundational skills needed for educational success. As children learn to read they develop the ability to decode, interpret, and store information from what they are reading. Reading comprehension allows a child to gain meaning from text and decoding allows a child to process sounds into words. Reading is vital to educational success because it allows a student to learn new information and build upon their prior knowledge. Students who attain reading skills are more likely to achieve academic success while students who have reading difficulties are likely to struggle academically and fall behind their peers. Reading difficulties have been prominent within the US for years. For example, the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress statistics shows that only about 33% of fourth graders are at or above proficient at reading (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2011). Studies show that the cause of reading difficulties is based primarily on genes, environment, and instructional experience (Vellutino, Fletcher, Snowling, Scanlon, 2004). Students with a language learning disorder have difficulty comprehending spoken and written language thus making it difficult to learn new information. Children with reading disabilities are more likely to struggle during elementary school years as students are asked to think about what they read more critically. Speech language pathologists and teachers can help