The Ronettes – Sleigh Ride (From “A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector)

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I fully realize that I instantly lose any moral high ground when my next Christmas song comes from a convicted murderer. However, despite killing The Beatles album, Let It Be, the wall of sound does, in fact, do ironic justice to the sounds of Christmas.

And that seems like a great way to begin my Education Wish List for 2011. So Santa, here goes:

First on my list (or last, depending on your theory of ordinal numbers) is my wish for LAUSD to end social promotion.

Santa, this wish has been on my list (and thus unfulfilled) for nearly 3 years. In case you’ve forgotten, students are socially promoted when those students, who have shown nearly no evidence of academic mastery of grade level-material are promoted to the next grade level anyway. This current practice is awful for a number of reasons. First, it may disincentivize (come on spell-check…”disincentivize” IS a word) students to perform well academically. Second, it hamstrings higher level classrooms where grade level material is increasingly difficult to teach due to the large numbers of students who have note mastered the prerequisites. Yes, they’re called “pre”-requisites for a reason. And third, and most importantly, the current system of social promotion flies in the face of the high expectations that teachers, schools, and families are trying to promote. It’s hard to say, “I expect you to work hard so you can do well in 8th grade”, but then "if you don’t, you can go there anyway.

Now Santa, you may be hesitant to end social promotion like I’d like you to. I know you may have read research that suggests that retaining students does little to improve their outcomes, or worry that district-wide ending of social promotion might not even be feasible.

I understand completely, Santa, and to help you out a little bit, I’ll suggest the following steps to ensure that this Christmas wish list can be actually fulfilled.

Step 1: Do not actually end social promotion district wide next year. Rather, end social promotion for all kindergarten. Then the following year, end social promotion for kindergarten and first grade. Then, the following year, end social promotion for K-2, and so on, and so on. Manageable? Absolutely.

Step 2: As research suggests, do not merely retain failing kindergarteners next year. Rather, identify them early, and in the process of retention, provide them with additional learning options and opportunities (be it intervention courses, parent workshops, or additional supports even in elementary school).

Santa, these two steps are totally manageable, and I know they can be done. So please grant my first Christmas wish. I’ve been good.