erforming. The punishment of grade-retention is viewed as serving as a motivator. This narrow view is focused on the symptom of poor academic achievement, expecting that the use of punishment or negative reinforcement will change behaviors. Since the cause of poor academic achievement is multiple, with motivation being only one component, it is not likely that this technique will provide a cure for symptoms. In fact low motivation may be due to poverty and discrimination practices that need to be addressed in order for school performance to be increased.
It appears that the mayor has not made himself aware of latest research findings. High-stakes testing, the current standards-based reform method, is under attack since it results in curriculum changes designed to teach test items only, additional teacher stress that results in a focus on test achievement rather than student problems that prohibit learning, and a gap in the performance between white and minority students. Since the outcomes of this method are limit
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