For a number of years my office has received panic calls relative to FCAT mandated 3rd grade retentions. Then last year I began to recieve calls from parents complaining their children were being retained at the end of the 2nd grade. What was going on? It took a while, then I understood. If you were a principal whose school was being marked down because of 3rd grade retentions - why not identify those children in danger of 3rd grade retentions and retain these children in the 2nd grade (when no one is looking). The school then has a second year to get these children up to grade where they will pass the FCAT.Some schools are "gaming" the FCAT - with our kids.

First Post

This is my first post, more or less taking the blog for a test drive. It is my intention to use this log to discuss issues in special education and to comment upon legal trends in this domain.