Angela Bhushan

Policy Analysis

EDLR 6302

Dr. Richard Kisiel

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Introduction:

1.
“Policies set standards and provide for the establishment of structures and processes that are
the basis of a working school district. “1. Connecticut’s Next Generation Accountability System
has put in place performance measures, called indicators. One of the 12 targeted indicators is
“on –track to High School graduation”. Pertinent to this indicator are district policies on
Promotion, Retention, and intervention which determine student proficiency based on the
supports and interventions provided as well as advancement to the next grade level.

Promotion, Retention and intervention Policy

Background information about the policy’s formulation

The “Instruction “ Section of the Bridgeport Public Schools Promotion, Retention, Intervention
Policy states that “The Bridgeport Public Schools is dedicated to the continuous academic
social- emotional and physical development of all students. The school system will provide
qualified staff with a well-defined curriculum that is aligned to the common core at each grade
level and throughout all grades from Pre-kindergarten to grade 12.

The promotion of students will be directly related to the demonstrated proficiency or

developmentally appropriate progress toward achieving grade level expectations. Bridgeport
public schools will provide educational interventions for students who need additional support
through well-articulated scientific research-based intervention (SRBI) program based on
Benchmarked assessments and Common Formative Assessments. If a student does not
demonstrate proficiency after being provided all appropriate educational interventions, then a
student may be retained in the same grade.

Each school will be responsible for providing services to each child who has not demonstrated
proficiency in achieving the grade level expectations.

By February 1st of each year, parents shall be notified if the promotion of their child is in doubt
based on his/her progress toward meeting standards and the consistency of his/her attendance
in school.
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To determine the level of each child’s competency, the teacher must review the student’s
academic progress in the regular curriculum and results of all interventions and supports
provided. Further, the teacher shall consider the attendance of the student in deciding whether
he/she shall be promoted. While all of the other subject areas are critical to the development of
a well- educated individual, it is the students’ degree of proficiency in the core subject areas
which shall be used by the teacher to determine promotion.” Legal Reference, Connecticut
General Statutes 10-221(b)

Potential to be considered High Leverage Policy

2.
The New England secondary school consortium's high leverage policy framework is a detailed
2.
exploration of education policy from rationale to development to implementation. The
3.
framework identifies three critical success factors essential to effective policy formulation:
Leverage points, Design features, and Implementation contingencies. 3.

Hypothesis on whether Promotion, Retention, Intervention Policy for Grades 4-8 is high
Leverage:

Leverage Points: Performance Goal is clearly defined in the policy, Example “The promotion of
students will be directly related to the demonstrated proficiency or developmentally
appropriate progress toward achieving grade level expectations.”

Design features: Timeline and Guidance for Compliance are indicated in the policy. Example:
“By February 1st of each year, parents shall be notified if the promotion of their child is in
doubt”. “The students’ degree of proficiency in the core subject areas shall be used to
determine promotion.”

Based on the implementation of this policy, students will be academically prepared to enter
High School and from there will be “on –track to High School graduation”. Since the Policy
broadly addresses the three primary framework objectives, I will say that this policy has the
potential to be considered High Leverage. The Equity factors will be addressed by the Theory of

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Action which will initiate Systems Change through differentiated instruction and interventions
resulting in positive student outcomes for all students.

The Ripple effect anticipated from this policy is that all students will demonstrate proficiency in
content knowledge and meet grade level expectations. The Policy will also influence specific
Proficiency considerations for Bilingual students and Special Education students.

Theory of Action pertinent to Policy: If the District continuously analyzes students’ academic
and behavioral needs and responds with a systematic protocol of Intervention and Enrichment
strategies and utilizes relevant resources, then all students’ achievement will increase.

Systems Change: As a result of the articulated Theory of Action, Teachers will review and
evaluate the student’s total growth and development during the entire school year. Teachers
will also communicate with students ‘ parents and school leadership by the end of the 2 nd
marking period the academic progress of each student with particular emphasis on students in
danger of being retained. To provide for each child’s individual difference in his/her rate of
growth appropriate supports will be considered such as Differentiated instruction, flexible
explicit group instruction based on student need and participation in SRBI (Scientific Research
Based Intervention).

Positive Student Outcomes: Increased level of proficiency at grade level with interventions for
students not meeting grade level expectations.

Policy Mechanism / Instruments

Success Factors: Policy Mechanism / Instruments

Per McDonnell and Elmore, the policy relies on the following instrument:
Mandates: The Promotion, Retention, and intervention Policy for Grades 4-8 is a Board of
Education policy. Legal Reference: Connecticut General Statute 10-221(b)
Components: For students in Grades, 4-8 letter grades are currently used as the measure of
performance. The lowest passing grade is D (65). To be promoted to the next grade, students in
grades 4-8 must meet the following criteria:

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•Demonstrates mastery of Bridgeport Public Schools grade level expectations in literacy and
mathematics as evidenced by student work and report card grades.

•Achieves level of proficiency or above on the Bridgeport public schools spring administration
of the benchmark assessments.

• Receives a final passing grade in reading/language arts, mathematics and either science or
social studies. (In grades 7and 8 students are required to receive a final passing grade in
reading/language arts, mathematics, science and social studies to be prepared for success in
high school.)

Best Context: Strong Support

Costs: Enforcement, Compliance

Drawback: Adversarial

Policy Scope
The Promotion, Retention, Intervention Policy for grades 4-8 is broad based and reasonably
addresses grade level proficiency expectations for all school affiliated stakeholders. The Policy
requires that supports and interventions be made available for students not making adequate
progress or for those in need of special services. For Bilingual students, LAS links proficiency
assessments, and CAPELL (Connecticut Administrators of Programs for English Language
Learners) guidelines will determine promotion to the next grade level.

Coherence Within and Across the Policy contexts

Aligning with the Promotion, Retention, Intervention Policy for grades 4-8 would be (1)
Guidelines Regulations for Promotion in Grades K-8 , which states that “Promotion to the next
grade level is based primarily upon the degree to which students meet the Bridgeport Public
Schools Promotion, Retention, Intervention Policy. “(2) Kindergarten – Grade 3 Promotion
Requirements state that “at the K-3 levels, promotion is based on the demonstration of
appropriate reading and math skills necessary to meet grade level expectations”. The CSDE has

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developed “deficiency “benchmarks (minimum criteria) for standards in reading using DRA 2. A
Score of “Proficiency” on the DRA 2 is Bridgeport‘s minimum standard.

Policies that might conflict with Promotion, Retention, Intervention Policy for grades 4-8

The Retention Regulations in the Policy itself. The policy calls for promotion to the next grade
level based on mastery in literacy and mathematics as “evidenced by student work and report
card grades.” So the Standard of “Mastery” relies on subjective assessments made by the
teacher.

The Retention regulation stipulates that “Generally, a pupil will not repeat more than one year
in Middle School (7-8) and elementary grades K-6. “ The regulation also states “Occasionally,
there may be circumstances, which will warrant the decision by the principal, after reviewing all
relevant information, to promote a pupil who does not meet promotion requirements.”

While the Retention Regulation is not a major conflict with the policy itself, it does bring up a
gray area where a subjective Principal recommendation and Teacher evaluation of “mastery”
determines promotion.

Ripple Effect from this Policy: The policy anticipates a positive ripple effect with eligibility
considerations made for Bilingual and Special Education students. However, while it may
appear “logical” to retain students not meeting grade level expectations, the unintended
impact may be a “blow” to their confidence, social status, and motivation. This, in turn, could
result in the in the student emotionally “shutting down,” or behaviorally “acting out.” Over
time, these social, emotional, and behavioral issues could overshadow the original academic
matters. In which case, social, emotional, or behavioral interventions would become necessary
for the student to benefit from any concurrent educational intervention.

For this policy to be high leverage, retention decisions must be research-informed, student-
specific, data-based, intervention-focused, and outcome-driven. It should also be sensitive and
strategically applicable to the individual factors present in each student’s case.

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The term “Retention” should be removed and replaced by “Diagnostic Assessments”. It would
then be the diagnostic assessments which would determine recommendations for specific
interventions to address students’ specific learning or skill deficits.

Research Driven and Practice Tested

Empirical Evidence to support the Policy: 4.Research suggests that some key design
4.
factors affect whether or not a policy achieves its intended purpose in its intended fashion.
5.
While grade retention does not typically increase student performance; it is widely practiced
in schools throughout the country. Arguments for retaining a child include immaturity, the
belief that an extra year of schooling will produce successful academic outcomes, and failure to
meet criteria for promotion. Those who oppose retention contend that it is not beneficial to
students' academic progress, the financial cost and cost to children's self-esteem are too great,
and it has a correlative relationship with dropping out of school. 5.

Considering the diverse needs of retained students, it is anticipated that systematic evidence-
based interventions will facilitate the academic and socio-emotional development of students
at risk for school failure. No single silver bullet intervention that will effectively address the
specific needs of a low-achieving student. It is important to note that the literature indicates
that effective practices for students at risk tend not to be qualitatively different from the best
practices of general education.

6.
Overall, neither social promotion nor retention leads to high performance. If the goal is to
bring low-performing students up to the rigorous standards now being asserted across the
nation, neither retention nor social promotion is effective. In different studies, one or the other
has been found to offer an advantage, but neither has been found to offer a large, lasting
advantage, and neither leads to high performance6.

“All happy families resemble one another, but each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”
Leo Tolstoy. Anna Karenina

Implications for Policy: 7.In theory, the Every Student Succeeds Act is a lot better than what it
replaces, the ESEA also known as No Child Left Behind. ESSA, the successor to No Child Left
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Behind, is an opportunity to move in a new direction, to break the old all-or-nothing cycle of
centralization or decentralization. States are now in a position to move beyond yesterday's top-
down policies and to create an unprecedented kind of collaboration that's essential for real
school improvement.7.

There is simply no way to solve the problem of large - scale improvement in educational
performance without connecting policy and practice more directly and powerfully. What
matters most are not the specifics of any given promotional policy, but the overall effectiveness
of Schools.

8.
Improvement is a developmental process, not an act of compliance with policy. 8. Sound
9.
decisions require multiple assessments. The decision to promote a student should not be
made by a single test, and especially not a single administration of a single test. Standards
developed by several professional societies condemn the use of a single administration of a
single assessment to make any high- stakes decision, instead encouraging the use of several
sources of evidence in making such decisions. Therefore, provisions should be made for
students to take accountability tests more than once if necessary and for local educators to use
additional evidence in making promotion decisions. If policymakers wish to minimize the
chance that retained students will be harmed, and maximize the chances that they will be
helped, then policy should call for special assistance to continue during and beyond the year in
which the student is retained. 9.

Policy makers should view retention and promotion procedures in the larger context of the
learning climate and weigh such factors as in- service training, administrative leadership,
curriculum objectives, and quality of instruction in any decisions.

Implementation Contingencies

District and Principal leadership: As Educators we bear responsibility for providing students
with the support, they need to achieve their goals. Demographic changes bring with them a
new reality. We have to work harder to retain the students we have traditionally enrolled, as
well as deliver new kinds of support to new groups of students.
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To successfully implement the Promotion, Retention, Intervention policy in Grades 4-8 Central
office, and school Administrators need to be on the same page.

 Each School’s improvement plan and theory of Action regarding student success must
align with that of the district.
 A supervised well- defined curriculum aligned to common core standards must be
available to all teachers in all the schools of the District.
 SRBI interventions will be provided to students based on their performance on the
Benchmarked and common formative assessments. These evaluations need to be
administered promptly at a preset board approved school calendar date and scored
using a district- wide collaboratively designed common rubric.
 With attendance being a criterion in the promotion and retention policy, schools need
to keep accurate records which are shared with the central office data management
Team.
 Principal together with the teacher must Inform Parents by the end of the 2 nd Marking
Period if promotion of their child is in doubt.

Making Sense of the policy for Teachers: Teachers must understand that they play a central
role in the implementation of this policy. In the interest of consistency and transparency, all
teachers must opt to teach standards- based curriculum which in turn would determine
student proficiency. Grade level expectations need to be clearly articulated by building
Principals and teachers to all stakeholders. Based on benchmark and common formative
assessment criteria teachers must proactively provide interventions and supports as
needed.

Communication is essential, and teachers need to be in constant communication with

parents /guardians regarding attendance and academic progress of their students. 10. In all
retention cases that are being considered, the main concern must be in the best interest of
the student’s emotional, social, and academic needs.10.

Capacity: To support the policy, Central Office, the building Principal teacher, and support
personnel must be on the same page. There needs to be an availability of adequate
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 resources to provide interventions. Cost-effective analysis enables measures of learning as
well as other appropriate indicators to be used to assess educational outcomes relative to
costs. (Levin & McEwan)

Local Will: For the policy to be effective there needs to be a high level of agreement among
faculty and administration on the norms, values, and expectations. Hence building
professional relationships between faculty and management would help garner support for
the policy. In a school setting trust and collaboration are mutually reinforcing: the more
parties work together, the greater opportunity they have to get to know one another and
build trust. At the same time, as Tschannen-Moran’s (2001) study indicates the level of trust
already present in the relationship influences parties’ willingness and ability to work
together. The greater the trust between teachers and principals, the more likely it is that
real collaboration will occur. “Trust” within a faculty and Management is grounded in
common understandings about what students should learn, how instruction should be
conducted, and how teachers should behave with students, Administration and one
another.

Teacher perception of their students and their backgrounds appears to be the most
influential factor in shaping teacher practice and attitudes. So teacher voice with relation to
student consequences would play a significant role in policy implementation and support.

Stability- Policy and People11. The challenge of modern organizations requires the objective
perspective of the manager as well as the flashes of vision and commitment wise leadership
provides” (Bolman & Deal, 1997: xiii-xiv) 11.

To implement policy with fidelity requires stability in leadership. Leadership stability also
accounts for achieving results sustained over a period which allows initiated change to
reach desired objectives.

Conclusions:

I hypothesized at the beginning of this paper that the Bridgeport School District’s
Promotion, Retention, Intervention policy for grades 4-8 was High leverage, and I will
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 conclude by stating that the policy has potential to become High leverage. By definition “A
high Leverage policy increases academic aspirations, achievement, or attainment for all
students. Promotes greater equity in Learning and generates positive ripple effects
throughout an educational system”. The Bridgeport policy makers considered the broad
parameters that make a policy high leverage. What I would add are the following-
measurable goals and specific data in literacy and math that determine grade level
expectations and Proficiency specifics on Benchmarked assessments. The policy is currently
not a catalyst for systemic improvement in the district, schools, and classrooms. However, it
sets the stage for moving towards equity in learning, achievement and attainment. In the
words of Baruti Kafele “Seeing your students as highly capable superstars is crucial, but
seeing them as part of a historical continuum is indispensable”.

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 References:

1."Education Review. Book reviews in education. School Reform ..."

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3. HIGHLEVERAGE POLICYFRAMEWORK - Vermont Department of Education."

education.vermont.gov/documents/EDU-PLP_HLP_Framework.pdf

4. Peer Reviewed Title: Berkeley Review of Education, 4(2 ..."

www.csustan.edu/sites/default/files/EdD/documents/amayerpeerreview

5. "ERIC - Grade Retention: Is It a Help or Hindrance to ...<http://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ744733>.

6. "ED449241 2000-12-00 Retention and Social Promotion ..." files.eric.ed.gov/full

text/ED449241.pdf

7. "With ESSA, States Should Partner with Districts ..."

<http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2016/03/09/with-essa-states-should-partner-wit>.

8. Schools And Complexity - files.eric.ed.gov." files.eric.ed.gov/full text/EJ1074486.pdf

9. "ED449241 2000-12-00 Retention and Social Promotion ..." files.eric.ed.gov/full

text/ED449241.pdf

10. Promotion/Retention Policy - DaarulUloom Islamic School."

dupeoria.org/academics/promotion retention-policy/

11. "The Mauritius Institute of Education On Teachers Education ..."

www.ukessays.com/essays/education/the-mauritius-institute-of-education-o

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