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Caddo Parish board debates requiring passing reading for promotion from first grade
Summary
Board members reviewed a proposed change to promotion policy that would require students to pass reading (and one other subject) to be promoted to second grade; staff said the district will use SBLC reviews and interventions rather than rely solely on the DIBELS screener.
During the Sept. 16 work session, board members considered a proposed change to the district’s promotion policy that would make passing reading — plus one other subject category — a requirement for promotion from first to second grade. "In first grade, you must pass reading. If not, then you'll be retained," Superintendent Burton said during discussion of the draft policy, while also emphasizing an SBLC (school-based) committee process to review individual cases.
Board members repeatedly raised concerns about the role of early screeners such as DIBELS. Staff clarified that failing a DIBELS screener would not automatically result in retention: the district intends a holistic review of grades, diagnostics and other data and could place students into the next grade with targeted interventions. "If they have failed their DIBELS screener, then we would look at the collection of data that we have on them and then make a decision about interventions," staff said.
Board members asked for data on how many students might be retained under the proposed language. Staff reported modeling that under last year’s data retention counts would increase from about 86 to about 158 under the new approach — figures presented as an example during the conversation. The board discussed communication plans, including updating handbooks and scheduling SBLC meetings during parent-conference days to expedite reviews and interventions.
No formal vote on the promotion language was recorded at the executive committee work session; the item was placed on the consent agenda for the upcoming full board meeting.
