Fields at Bank Street College Urges
Mayor to Drop 3rd Grade Retention Plan
Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia
Fields called on Mayor Michael Bloomberg to drop a controversial
plan to retain 3rd graders if they do not pass tests in reading
and math. The meeting, which was held at Bank Street College
of Education, centered around Fields' opposition to "social promotion," urging
the mayor and education officials to revisit the plan and establish
a panel of experts to explore ways to better address the issue.
"I am writing to urge you to withdraw your proposed plan
to retain third grade students on the basis of a single standardized
test score in reading and math," Fields wrote in a letter
sent to Bloomberg. Fields held a forum recently on the topic,
and the testimony delivered was overwhelmingly in opposition
to the use of test results as the single criterion for advancement
or retention. The reasons cited for opposition to the proposed
policy were compelling and included the following points: Retention
programs that have been unsuccessful in the past-several cities,
including New York City, have experimented with programs similar
to the one proposed and they have failed. Holding kids back
does not raise student achievement and contributes to drop
out rates.
Standardized tests are not designed to determine what a child
knows. Studies have shown that tests can actually misrepresent
a child's true abilities. A 1993 study found that a large portion
of students who scored low on standardized tests read books
at much higher levels and understand their reading far better
than their tests indicated.
Retention programs blame students,
not the school system–we
should not be in the business of holding students back for
the failure of teachers or schools. Research has shown that
among those retained, a disproportionate number of them are
people of color or come from low-income families or non-English
speaking families.
"I am unequivocally opposed to social promotion and in
agreement with Chancellor Klein that we must hold our school
system accountable for actually educating children rather than
simply passing them on to the next grade," Fields said. "However,
there is little, if any, evidence to support that a promotion
plan such as the one currently put forth will better educate
our children."#
