If your child is at risk of being retained, you must be notified as early in the school year as possible. During the first eight weeks of the school year, your child's teacher and the principal will be reviewing each child's test performance, grades and measures of academic achievement from the previous year. From this information students will be identified as at risk of retention, and parents will be notified by mail no later than the fall parent conference. At the parent conference, assessment information will be discussed and an Achievement Improvement Plan will be developed which will specify the additional instruction, materials and strategies that your child needs to improve reading, language arts and/or mathematics skills. The Achievement Improvement Plan will be reviewed during the school year and adjusted as needed. During the month of May, student progress will be reviewed, and parents will be notified of the teacher's recommendation to promote or retain. Students who are to be retained are expected to attend an intensive remedial summer instructional program.

Criteria for retention are described below by grade level. Students who meet these criteria must be retained unless the child's teacher indicates in writing that retention is not an appropriate intervention for the student and recommends promotion to the next grade level.

Consideration for retention in Kindergarten is based on a number of developmental and academic factors. No specific criteria for retention or promotion were mandated by the new law in our district policy for Kindergarten. Each Kindergarten student is assessed for progress throughout the school year. At the end of the year the student is given a year-end Kindergarten assessment measuring skills in letter recognition, phonemic awareness, phonics, reading orientation and mathematics as well as in a number of other developmental areas. By the end of the school year the student shall attain a 3 on the report card. State law still requires that whenever a student is to continue in Kindergarten for an additional year an agreement must be obtained and signed by the parent stating that the student shall continue in Kindergarten. Specific criteria for retention and promotion from grade 1 to 2 are not mandated by the new law or our Board policy. Students, however, may be recommended for retention when their progress during the first grade year is well below grade expectancies. Retention is not recommended as a first option for students in Kindergarten and first grade who do not meet district grade-level standards. Instead, the emphasis must be on providing appropriate intervention and support strategies to ensure success.

According to the law and District policy, retention of students in these grades must be based primarily on their level of proficiency in reading. Students who continue to score at an instructional level two or more years below their grade level will be retained. Students at risk of retention will be identified from the previous grade's year end reading assessments and, in third grade, the STAR results in reading. Identified students will be participating in interventions during the school year and will be expected to attend a summer school program. At the completion of the summer school program, students will be re-evaluated based on the progress made in reading. Please note that the STAR reading scores will be used only to indicate that a student may be at risk of retention and, will consequently, receive additional assistance. STAR scores are not the only basis for the decision to promote or retain a student.

Students in these grades are promoted or retained based on their levels of proficiency in reading/language arts and mathematics. A student may be retained if any one of the following exists:

As in previous grades, students will be identified as early in the year as possible as being at risk of retention and will be provided with supplemental instruction and a required summer school program. At risk students will be identified from the student's previous year's reading, language arts and mathematics performance and his/her STAR scores in reading and mathematics.

Eighth-grade students will be retained if the following two criteria exist:

1. Grade of F for the year in either reading or math attempted in the eighth-grade year, initial screening is triggered by 3rd quarter grades; however, final retention is determined by 4th quarter grades; and
2. A score of “1” (Far Below Basic) or “2” (Below Basic) in reading and math on the STAR California Standards Test.

Students who are recommended for retention in any middle school grade are mandated to attend summer school. Students must successfully meet the established criteria for their promotion in order to move to the next grade. Eighth-grade students recommended for retention in middle school who attend the summer school program will be re-evaluated at the conclusion of summer school and may be promoted if the teacher and the regular school principal determine that sufficient progress has been made.