Finally, critics assert that social promotion sends a destructive message to students and their families' that success is an entitlement rather than a reward. Indeed, research evidence makes clear that students who are promoted without achieving necessary knowledge and skills fare little better than their peers who are retained in terms of academic achievement. As states promote high academic standards, many education researchers say that it is important to acknowledge that neither retention nor social promotion alone can foster student success, because both fail to address the complex issues associated with student underachievement and the reasons why schools find it difficult to serve underachieving students. There is growing consensus that the most effective measures to bring all students to high standards are those that foster fundamental changes in pedagogy, content, and curriculum and address not only the academic but also the social and emotional needs of students at risk of school failure. 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.