On Nov. 12, the Panel for Educational Policy approved changes to the Department of Education's promotion standards, imposing stricter passing guidelines for students in grades 4 and 6. Changing the retention policies for students in grades 3-8, and ending "social promotion", has been a hallmark of Mayor Bloomberg's education agenda.
The panel approved the policy with little comment or dissension, although two members voted against it. This was in stark contrast to the outcry that followed the 2004 passage of the 3rd grade retention policy. Now all students in grades 3-8 (who take the state standardized reading and math tests) will be held back if they fail to score at least a 2 on a 4-point scale.
All other proposed new policies, previewed earlier this month on Insideschools, were likewise approved. These included new procedures for selecting principals and other supervisors, and the creation of a new Chancellor's Regulation which lays out the requirements for public review before a school is closed or there are changes in building utilization.
Public comments on the proposed changes and the new regulation are posted on the Department of Education website; meanwhile education advocate Leonie Haimson writes on the NYC Education News Yahoo group that the DOE "appears to have taken almost no suggestions for improvement."
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