Holding Kids Back May Be In Their Best Interests

[A letter to the editor of the Knoxville News Sentinel that was published in February 2021.]

The News Sentinel reported that some people oppose holding back third-grade students who aren’t reading at grade level, on the grounds that it might hurt their feelings and make them feel un-special. One even opined that holding kids back was “punishing” them for not being prepared for reading tests. But such opposition is not in the affected children’s best interest.

First, the option of remediation – summer school and an intensive tutoring program – is offered, so kids can go on to fourth grade if they and their parents make an effort to make up their reading deficits. This is not punishment but shoring up. Second, kids would be better served by getting a second chance at the material instead of falling further and further behind in future grades. With many children in this situation, they would feel less singled out by being helped to understand that they were part of a large group getting extra attention. Third, considering their adult lives, how would it be better for the kids to be deficient in reading? They would not do well in college, even if they could get in, and they would not do well in many jobs that involve reading at the ninth-grade level, the level of many manuals.

How does it benefit society when the school system turns out graduates who feel really, really good about themselves but depend solely on other people to tell them orally everything they need to know for their jobs? That sales clerk is never going to rise to be manager of the store if he can’t read and understand those memos from the corporate office. Kids’ self-respect will be enhanced more by their mastering reading than by their being passed along in school with the story that they are terrific no matter how poorly they do.