Final project

Anthropological Analysis of Cultural Diversity December 10, 2014

Student perspectives on social promotion and high school readiness East Los Angeles, California

This study focus on students of Design Charter High School, a charter school located in East Los Angeles, CA. Specifically, it seeks to understand what students’ thoughts are on social promotion and how their middle school experience has prepared them for high school. The research question explored in this small study is the following: What are students’ perspectives on social promotion?

�1By: Diana Roh

On social promotion

Social promotion is defined as allowing a student to move on to the next grade level or to the next course even though he or she did not meet the criteria for doing so.

Opponents of social promotion believe that retention is beneficial as it allows a student to have extended time to become proficient in their area of weakness. On the other hand, proponents of social promotion believe that retention severely damages a students’ self-confidence and leads to negative attitudes towards school (Kariuki & Page, 2001). However, social promotion suggests that students may not be held to the same standards and may create situations were students are “excluded from the right to have high expectations for learning and for the access to the general education curriculum” (Quenemoen, et al., 2000).

But the pendulum on social promotion continues to swing on both ends as there are studies that show how both social promotion and retention can be beneficial or detrimental for students. For example, a study in the Cleveland Public Schools suggests that high promotion rates lead to increased scores in reading at the elementary level (Kaczala, 1991), while results in a study in a Northeast Tennessee High school suggests that students who are socially promoted in middle school perform poorly in their high school math classes (Kariuki & Page, 2001).

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Anthropological Analysis of Cultural Diversity December 10, 2014

Results

Social interactions appear to be an important factor for middle school students. The participants described their middle school experience solely on social terms (whether or not they made friends) and not on academic terms (whether or not they learned a lot). In fact, in one of the open-ended survey questions, none of the participants described their middle school experience based on academics.

When the survey specifically asked about students’ academic experience in middle school, four participants responded it was easy and only two participants described their experience as challenging but enriching. Five out of the seven participants believe that their middle school experiences affected their high school performance (Figure 1), while four students believe that middle school did not prepare them for high school.

Figure 2 shows the result of a survey question that asked students whether a student should move on to the next grade level even though he or she did not pass any or all of his or her middle school classes. All participants disagreed.

During individual interviews, students expressed why they disagreed with socially promoting middle school students to high school:

“…They [students] are not really prepared. And some of the stuff that you learn in middle school are things that you need for high school. They are obviously going to fail.”

“…They [students] didn’t take school seriously. I think it’s good that they stay in middle school because if they fail it’s because they probably didn’t understand it.”

However, one student in particular shared a slightly different response than the rest. This student has shared concern about how students are not the only ones to blame for student failure at the middle school level:

“The teachers sucked because they didn’t know how to teach. They would even drink beer [in class]… They didn’t really teach anything. They would just give us packets but they never actually taught us how to do it. Only when LAUSD would check, they would teach.”

When asked whether a student should move on to high school despite having failed some middle school classes, this same student responded:

“It’s a hard question. Yes and no. They [the students] might have gotten the material but they didn’t pass because they [the teachers] didn’t teach [well]. And yes because they [the students] didn’t try.”

�2By: Diana Roh

About Design Charter High School

Design Charter High is located in East Los Angeles, California. Design High has a student population of 341, and it consists of 99% Latino and 1% Asian. 22% of the student population are English Learners, and 94% of the students are free or reduced lunch participants.

Survey Results

The majority of the students surveyed agreed that their middle school experience affects their high school performance. See figure 1.

When asked if students who did not pass middle school courses should move on to the next grade level, all of the students surveyed disagreed (6 disagreed, 1 strongly disagreed). See figure 2.

Figure 2

Figure 1

Anthropological Analysis of Cultural Diversity December 10, 2014

Relation to Schooling and Education

One thing to note is how students remember middle school. What students remember when they are asked about their experiences is their attempt to fit into the social stratification that is present in public schools, which is shown by a students testimony:

“I did not enjoy some of my middle school times because there were too many students and there were different groups of students that were arranged based on how they acted or [based on] intelligence and I honestly didn't like that.”

The experience of this student is similar to many of the students that Laurie Olsen studied at Madison High in her book, Made in America. This text vividly shows the cultural transitions that students face in an attempt to fit in, as well as the importance of teachers to understand the difficulties that immigrant students face in order to succeed in school. Based on student responses and on Olsen’s study, it appears that “successful” students are those who are able to assimilate well into the culture of the school and of the “American” expectations (2008).

Another interesting finding from this small study is that students do not want their grades or their status handed to them. The participants of this study at Design High generally did not think it is right or fair to socially promote a student who does not show effort and therefore is unable to demonstrate mastery over certain content. This resonates with the idea that social promotion at the secondary level may strip students from the right to have high expectations for learning and access to a rigorous curriculum that is competitive and comparable to the education that non-ethnic minorities have access to (Quenemoen, et al., 2010). On the same token, students who’ve experience low-quality education under an ineffective teacher don’t necessarily believe the responsibility of a student to pass a class falls on the student himself or herself in its entirety.

After analyzing student voices and their experiences, it’s crucial that educators and policy makers engage in critical pedagogy. Critical teachers must understand the political structure of their school and be dedicated to prevent students who are socially marginalized from being hurt (Kincheloe, 2004). High school teachers should be aware that incoming students may or may not have all the necessary skills or knowledge needed to attain mastery in their classrooms. With that said, teachers should take advantage of the fact that students are socially motivated and build strong teacher-student relationships to guide student learning and foster motivation. In addition, teachers should be aware that every students can bring a wealth of knowledge from which the teacher can build upon to guide the student into the mastery of a content-based standard that was determined by the state, because “[g]ood schools [shouldn’t] blame students for their failures or strip students of the knowledges they bring in the classroom” (Kincheloe, 2004).

�3By: Diana Roh

Methodology

Students in the 11th grade were selected for this study because they have been in high school for 2-3 years, which would give these students a solid high school experience. This time period is also comparable to the 2-3 years they have spent in middle school.

Selection of the students were based on their academic performance and based on student interest in this research topic. Participation was voluntary. In this study, a small sample of seven 11th grade students were surveyed and interviewed. The students that were selected have different levels of academic performance. Two students are at advanced levels, three students are at a proficient level, one student is at the basic level, and one student is at below basic. Their performance levels was determine by their academic grades.

The goals of the research were described in class, and students were given the survey online. The survey asked students to recall their middle school experience and their general opinion on social promotion.

Out of the seven 11th grade students who took the survey, four were willing to do an interview. The interview questions focused on students’ thoughts on high school preparedness, and their opinion on promoting a student from middle school to high school.

A copy of this report will be given to the students who participated in the study.

Anthropological Analysis of Cultural Diversity December 10, 2014

Author’s note on methodology

Due to the small sample size of this study, no statistically significant data or results can be concluded. However, the goal of this study was to gain an understanding of their perspectives on a topic that educators, school leaders, and policy makers still struggle with today: whether a student should be socially promoted and under what circumstances should that happen. And so, qualitative data was collected analyzed. A large sample size and a more extensive analysis of the data was not carried out due to time constraints.

References

Kaczala, C., & Cleveland Public Schools, O. A. (1991). Grade Retention: A Longitudinal Study of School Correlates of Rates of Retention.

Kariuki, P., & Page, L. (2001). The Relationship between Social Promotion in the Middle School and Academic Achievement in a High School Math Class.

Kincheloe, J. (2004). Critical Pedagogy Primer. New York: Peter Lang.

Olsen, L. (2008). Made In America. New York, NY: The New Press.

Quenemoen, R. F., Lehr, C. A., Thurlow, M. L., Thompson, S. J., Bolt, S., National Center on Educational Outcomes, M. M., & National Association of State Directors of Special Education, A. V. (2000). Social Promotion and Students with Disabilities: Issues and Challenges in Developing State Policies. Synthesis Report 34.

�4By: Diana Roh