They will be required to pass tests before being promoted to the next grade. However, they would be given two chances at the test and if they still fail, would be held back only after a conference which includes their parents. Conventional wisdom has been that it's worse for a child to be held back than it is to promote him no matter what he knows. Recent studies in Baltimore, Chicago and Houston suggest otherwise, or at a minimum, that grade retention is not always bad. However, under their approach Georgia has continued to rank among the least successful states in the nation in terms of education.
Critics argue that ending social promotions increases the dropout rate.
Other studies dispute this, but there comes a time when taxpayers and educators have to ask themselves when enough is enough. He argued that many black children don't succeed in school because parents and teachers have low expectations of them and allow them to make too many excuses for poor performance. We keep telling our children that failure is an option. Telling a child who has failed a grade that he will be promoted anyway is doing precisely that. Early intervention is another key to preventing a child from facing grade retention.