Sixth graders promoted in 1997 without meeting the test cutoff fared poorly at the eighth-grade gate, while Summer Bridge passers did relatively well¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · associational r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2000 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Only 27 percent of sixth graders promoted in 1997 without reaching the cutoff met the eighth-grade cutoff in May 1999, and over one-third were retained or sent to Transition Centers at the end of eighth grade. → Roderick 2000 q2 i? Students promoted after passing Summer Bridge did relatively well: 75 percent passed the eighth-grade criterion by August and 85 percent were promoted, though almost half attended Summer Bridge again. → Roderick 2000 (2)

Evidence¶

Roderick 2000¶

Roderick, M., Nagaoka, J., Bacon, J., & Easton, J. Q. (2000). Update: Ending Social Promotion: Passing, Retention, and Achievement Trends Among Promoted and Retained Students 1995-1999. Consortium on Chicago School Research. https://www.consortium-chicago.org

q2 · i? · associational · r2

Tracking (Figure 16) of 1997 sixth-grade waivees through the 1999 eighth-grade promotional gate. The brief identifies waived students as a group whose future performance is of special concern.

"Only 27 percent met the eighth grade test cutoff in May 1999, and slightly over half did so by the end of the summer. In the end, over one-third of sixth graders who were promoted despite not meeting the test cutoff in 1997 were retained or sent to T ransition Centers"

Roderick 2000 (2)¶

Roderick, M., Nagaoka, J., Bacon, J., & Easton, J. Q. (2000). Update: Ending Social Promotion: Passing, Retention, and Achievement Trends Among Promoted and Retained Students 1995-1999. Consortium on Chicago School Research. https://www.consortium-chicago.org

q2 · i? · associational · r2

Tracking of 1997 Summer Bridge passers through the eighth-grade gate. Almost 86 percent of sixth graders who met the cutoff in May 1997 did so again in eighth grade; excluding leavers, 94 percent passed again.

"Although almost half of them did have to at- tend Summer Bridge after eighth grade, 75 percent of this group passed the test criterion by August and fully 85 percent were promoted."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Students who met the promotional cutoffs, including after Summer Bridge, maintained positive test trajectories two years after promotion — related
• Summer Bridge's second chance substantially raised promotion rates: by August 1997, 68% of included third graders, 79% of sixth graders, and 83% of eighth graders had met the cutoff — related
• Passing rates under the Chicago promotional policy increased in all three grades from 1997 to 1999, mostly during the school year rather than Summer Bridge — related
• Despite higher passing rates, retention rates did not fall because fewer students who failed the cutoff were promoted with waivers — related
• Summer Bridge produced short-term test-score gains and allowed more students to meet promotion cutoffs, particularly among sixth and eighth graders — related
• In 1997, 31% of third graders and about 20% of sixth and eighth graders were excluded from Chicago's promotional test-score policy, with bilingual education the main exclusion reason in third grade and special education in sixth and eighth — related
• Second-year outcomes were worst for retained eighth graders and Transition Center students: only 27% met the criteria by May 1998 and about 16% of officially retained eighth graders dropped out — related