Gary Stern, writer for Lohud the Journal News reports
that the Middleton (New York) school district has issued an unusual
mandatory requirement for some of its students. It has identified 600
of its kindergarten through second grade students and is requiring that
they attend summer school. The students were chosen based on their
scores on their most recent MAP tests. Students who do not attend the
classes or who attend but do not progress face possible retention or
promoted with extra help. Superintendent Kenneth Eastwood explained
that the district is trying different approaches in an effort “to help
students who are in danger of never reaching academic standards.”
This requirement is being met with resistance from some parents.
Some complain that this policy is unfair and shocking since it is based
on results from one test, and many had been assured of adequate progress
throughout the school year at parent-teacher conferences and report
cards. The district’s officials face greater challenges with the
implementation of the Common Core and new state tests for grades 3 to
8. Superintendents from nearby districts are divided on this policy.
They, too, have similar populations that they have offered summer school
remediation, but those were not mandatory,
