BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ( WIAT ) — According to self-reported data from Alabama school districts, 1,832 third graders will be retained statewide.
Alabama State Superintendent of Education Eric Mackey said the later students are retained, the worse the social outcomes.
“It really made me wonder, ‘Was I making the right decisions for him academically? Was I pushing him too hard? Was this test truly an indicator of was he really prepared for the fourth grade?’” said Lorie Minton, whose son just started fourth grade in Hoover City Schools.
She said getting him there didn’t come without the stress of one test.
“But it was very stressful knowing that, especially our child having ADHD,” Minton said. “Test taking is probably not his strong suit, as it never was mine.”
Minton said her son’s third-grade teacher did a great job preparing him. But it didn’t matter how well he did. She said if he failed his reading test at the end of the year, he’d be held back.