Should the social promotion practice be retained?

Chicago recently joined the campaign in the United States to end the practice of social promotion in public education, but the CNMI’s Public School System is not about to follow suit, according to a PSS official.

“What we need to learn first is whether the teacher has exhausted his or her efforts and techniques to help students pass the class and learn something before coming to a decision to demote him or retain him,” said Rey Tebuteb, teacher-trainee coordinator of PSS.

“But we have to look at it at individual approach because eventually it will not be a social group promotion but individual promotion or retention, ” Tebuteb said.

Social promotion is a longtime practice of allowing academically poor students to move on the next grade rather than holding them back.

According to a teacher at Hopwood Junior High, PSS maintains the policy of moving up a junior high student to high school level when he or she reaches the age of 16 regardless of his or her academic performance.

The Hopwood teacher, who asked not to be identified, said social promotion hurts struggling students by taking away incentives to master the skills they will need to succeed in life.

“Sometimes, teachers are forced to pass even those who cannot read,” the teacher said. “The student doesn’t put time and effort to learn because he knows that he would be promoted after all.”

An Associated Press article has mentioned studies conducted over the past two decades which have shown that holding failing students are most likely to drop out of school —– almost certain to if they are held back more than once. Students stigmatized for flunking are likely to be disruptive, making it harder for others to learn, according to studies.

In the CNMI, PSS has tried to address this by putting up recently an alternative school called Lina’la-Malawasch Academy, which caters to delinquent students.

Remedial and intercession classes, according to Tebuteb, have also been established to help failing students rev up academic speed.

Last summer, at least 148 repeaters attended a three-week remedial class to get them out of Hopwood and allow them to move on to Marianas High School, a Hopwood teacher said.

But in the long run, Tebuteb said, this problem has to be approached on the individual level.

Everyone, not only the teacher but also the parents, have to do their part to enable public schools to finally see the end to social promotion, Tebuteb said. (MCM)