School board suspends more rigorous promotion standards

By Susan Snyder

June 14, 2000 Web posted at: 2:40 PM EDT (1840 GMT)

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia Inquirer) -- Philadelphia's Board of Education yesterday voted unanimously to suspend plans to hold eighth graders to more rigorous promotion standards because the district cannot afford to provide the remedial supports deemed necessary.

The standards were due to be enforced this month for fourth, eighth and 12th graders - the three major benchmark grades identified by the district. The requirements will go into effect for fourth and 12th graders as planned.

Superintendent David Hornbeck again blamed inadequate state funding.

"I think it's terrible," Hornbeck said in an interview. "The board has done a masterful job of having to, in a sense, cut the baby in half by virtue of the budget that has been imposed on the school district, in my judgment, by the state. So it's just the latest example of the mistreatment of our kids."

State officials have said that Pennsylvania already provides more than half of the district's funding and that the city's tax effort for education lags behind some other communities'.

In its 2000-01 budget adopted May 31, the school board included $15 million for Hornbeck's reforms deemed necessary to enforce the higher standards - much less than what he had asked for or what the board approved in the preliminary budget.

The money will cover summer-school programs for fourth and eighth graders and reduced class sizes for kindergarten and first graders. (Summer school also will be held for third, seventh, ninth and 12th graders but will be funded through other means.)

But Hornbeck had said it also would be necessary to provide other supports for fourth and eighth graders who were denied promotion, such as after-school programs, transition classes, and smaller class sizes if the tougher, new standards were to be enforced.

The board and administration in the last week have identified an additional $9 million in grant funding that will be used to provide those remedial supports for fourth graders.

As a result, "for fourth graders, social promotion is eliminated - gone," Hornbeck said.

The only additional requirement for 12th graders this year is the completion of a multidisciplinary project, which does not need funding.

But board members could not find enough money for the eighth-grade support programs.

In the resolution approved, board members indicated that they intended to implement the promotion and graduation standards for eighth graders next June. Also, in 2002, 12th graders will be required to earn two additional credits to graduate, including at least four years of math, four years of science, and two years of a world language.

Board President Pedro Ramos said the continuation of the standards was contingent upon the district's finding additional funding for remedial steps.

Under the more rigorous promotion and graduation standards approved by the board in 1998 and initiated by yesterday's action, current fourth graders to be promoted in the fall are required to have passed all four major subject areas.

Those subjects are reading, math, science and social studies. Previously, they had to pass only reading and math and either science or social studies. They also must meet a test-score requirement on the SAT-9 standardized test or on a "second-chance" proficiency exam given by the district.

In addition, the district's previous policy that allows students to be held back only once between kindergarten and eighth grade does not apply to them. The policy also is wiped out for all other grades, except eighth.

For eighth graders, the old requirements for the most part stay in effect. They must pass three of the four major subjects to be promoted, not four. There is no standardized-test-score requirement.

But the board did upgrade requirements for one group of eighth graders - those who are overage (or who have previously failed a grade). The overage eighth graders - who account for 2,535 of 15,486 students, according to Hornbeck - will be required to attend summer school. If they fail to attend, they will be kept back, he said.

If they do attend and still fail to pass, they will be assigned to the ninth grade in adherence to the old promotion policy. The district would not have promoted these youngsters if the promotion standards had gone into effect, Hornbeck said.

Board member Michael Masch noted that the district overall was advancing reform efforts.

He said about 75 percent of fourth graders were expected to meet the promotion requirements. The rest must pass summer school or be retained and given the support needed next year, he said. He noted the fourth graders' strong progress on standardized tests given in the spring.

"We're moving in the right direction," Masch said. "The question is not merely where are we, but what is the trajectory."

Hornbeck, who last week announced his resignation at least in part over funding issues, praised the board's decision to move forward with the fourth-grade requirements. But he said he was upset that the board had to choose in the first place.

Under a financial deal the city struck with Gov. Ridge's administration on May 31, the district was required to make $30 million in cuts. The deal allowed the district to adopt a budget with a projected $80 million deficit, which will allow the district to keep schools open through 2000-01 and avert a state takeover.

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