> Through one of the educational reforms for which I advocated as governor, Indiana prohibits the so-called social promotion of children from third to fourth gr

> Through one of the educational reforms for which I advocated as governor, Indiana prohibits the so-called social promotion of children from third to fourth grade until they pass a reading test...The reform worked, in a uniquely rapid and emphatic fashion. In the first post-reform cycle of national assessments, Indiana fourth-graders jumped from 27th to 14th. Two years later, the state ranked ninth... So a little accountability can go a long way. I'm not saying this is a bad idea, or that you should advance the grade level of kids who didn't learn how to read. But, those improvements to the tests scores are probably better explained by the fact that they just stopped testing the kids who were dragging down the average. The third graders who didn't learn to read were left in third grade, and they only tested the kids who went on to fourth.