Dive Brief:

• According to Ohio officials, 88% of the state's third-graders met their new reading goals.
• Ohio recently implemented the Third Grade Reading Guarantee, which ties grade promotion to reading goals.   
• The end of the year numbers are up from October, when only 63% of students would have passed.  

Dive Insight:

Under Ohio's Third Grade Reading Guarantee, students can be re-tested and evaluated at any time — even the summer. Students who are held back can even re-test in the middle of the next school year and be promoted mid-year.

While it makes sense to give students multiple chances to improve, promoting a student in the middle of the school year may do more harm than good. Not only will they most likely have a lot of catching up to do in other subjects, but they will miss all the foundations for the year's learning. Additionally, a mid-year move could also be socially confusing.