Yet, a recent survey conducted by the Department of Education indicated that only about one third of districts in the nation have mandatory summer school for students facing retention. Most districts working to end social promotion have found that summer school is an absolutely necessary component of efforts to help students who do not make the grade. Third-graders who score one or more years below grade level in reading on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills must attend the program, as do fifth and eighth graders who score two or more years below grade level. Third-grade classes during the summer program do not exceed 20 students, and every room has both a teacher and paraprofessional. Fifth and eighth grade classes do not exceed 15 students.
Sessions run for four hours every day for third graders and three hours for all other students.
Instruction follows the district's literacy plan, which consists of direct instruction in reading skills as well as guided reading and writing, cooperative reading, and independent reading. In 1998, about 2,200 students completed the program. The district retests students at the end of the program to determine their placement for the following year. Students who still score two or more years below grade level must repeat the third grade. Students who score one to two years below grade level are promoted to the fourth grade, where they receive extra tutoring.