Interventions that address the myriad reasons students fail to achieve high standards may include some element of either retention or social promotion, but also need to go well beyond simply requiring students to repeat a grade or move beyond the material they failed to master. Effective intervention is proactive . One of the fundamental problems with both retention and social promotion is that they are responses that can be implemented only after students establish a pattern of failure. But the most effective programs to promote student success do so before students fail, often in preschool, kindergarten, and the early elementary years. Evidence suggests that preventive programs in the early years that emphasize reading and math skills, motivation to learn, and self-esteem issues can have an important impact on school success in later years.
Effective intervention addresses the reasons students fail to achieve.
Only a small portion of students fail because they are innately unable to acquire the knowledge and skills required of them. Rather, students often fall behind in school for a variety of social, emotional, and motivational reasons. Consequently, effective intervention programs address the multiple needs of underachieving children, including specific knowledge and skill gaps, learning disabilities, and issues related to absenteeism, motivation, self-esteem, and peer pressure. The standards movement underway in almost every state means that for the first time teachers and administrators have a way of consistently judging adequate student performance. Consequently, interventions were applied inconsistently.