Table of Contents
| Status | Adopted |
| Original Adopted Date | 03/23/2000 |
| Last Revised Date | |
| Last Reviewed Date |
IKE: Promotion, Acceleration and Retention of Students
Last Revised Date: 02/25/2019 The School of the Osage is committed to the continuous development of students enrolled in the district's schools and recognizes that the pace at which students develop varies.
When determining whether students should be promoted, accelerated or retained, the district will use all available information, including results of classroom performance assessments, other measures of skill and content mastery, standardized test results and teacher observation of student performance. The principal will direct and aid teachers in developing student evaluation standards and apply those standards uniformly when making decisions regarding the promotion, acceleration or retention of students.
Decisions on whether to promote, accelerate or retain a student with disabilities will be made in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and as required by other applicable law.
Promotion
Students will normally progress annually from grade to grade unless, in the judgment of the district's professional staff, it is not in the best educational interest of the student to do so. The final decision to promote a student rests with the school administration.
Remediation as a Condition of Promotion
The district may require remediation as a condition of promotion to the next grade level for any student identified by the district as failing to master skills and competencies established for that particular grade level. The superintendent or designee shall determine which skills and competencies must be mastered, how they are to be assessed and what type of remediation is appropriate.
Remediation may include, but shall not necessarily be limited to, a mandatory summer school program focused on the areas of deficiency or other such alternatives conducted by the district outside of the regular school day. If the district provides remediation in this manner outside the traditional school day, the extra hours of instruction may be counted in the calculation of average daily attendance. Such remediation shall recognize that different students learn differently and shall employ methods designed to help these students achieve at high levels.
The district may require parents/guardians of such students to commit to conduct home-based tutorial activities with their children. Decisions concerning the remedial reading instruction of a student who receives special education services, including the nature of parental involvement , shall be made in accordance with the student's Individualized Education Program (IEP).
Acceleration
The School of the Osage believes it is necessary for the instructional staff to encourage, support and assist advanced and gifted students to more rapidly achieve educational goals through acceleration. For most gifted and advanced students, this acceleration can be achieved through the school district curriculum and suggested acceleration strategies contained in the curriculum. These acceleration strategies can include, but are not limited to:
Individually Paced Instruction – Instruction paced to the learning needs of the individual student. Materials are presented that will allow the student to proceed at a self selected pace.
Differentiated Instruction – Instruction tailored to the learning preferences of different learners. The method or approach of instruction varies according to the preference of each student or what research has found works best.
Personal Learning – Instruction paced to student identified learning needs, tailored to learning preferences and adapted to the specific interests of different learners.
Curriculum Compacting – The student is given reduced amounts of drill, practice and review. The time saved may be used to move faster through the curriculum or for more advanced content instruction.
While provisions for individual differences can be accomplished for most students within a grade level, it may be necessary to consider additional strategies for individual students who show exceptional ability, aptitude and achievement. Special procedures must be followed to consider these following strategies for individual students:
Subject Matter Acceleration – The student is placed for part of the day with students at more advanced grade levels for one or more subjects without being assigned to a higher grade; or the student works for part of a day on material above grade level for one or more subjects within his/her regular classroom.
Whole Grade Acceleration – The student is placed one grade level ahead of the current grade placement.
Retention
Retention may be considered when, in the judgment of the professional staff, it is in the best educational interest of the student involved. Parents/Guardians will receive prior notification and explanation concerning the retention. However, the final decision will rest with the school administration.
State law requires that all students who are reading below a third-grade reading level according to the district’s fourth-grade reading assessment shall be retained if the student has not adequately improved by the end of summer school. Further, if a student fails to attend remediation assigned as a condition of promotion, the student will be retained.
Federal
Board of Curators, Univ. of Mo. v. Horowitz, 435 U.S. 78 (1978)