When it comes to promoting students to the next grade, warm-and-fuzzy is in. Objective test results are out.
That’s the gist of Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña’s announcement Wednesday that henceforth “test scores may not be the primary or major factor in promotion decisions” for third- through eighth-graders. Instead, schools will use “multiple measures, including a holistic assessment” of students’ work and progress.
In short, more children will be passed along based on more subjective criteria.
This marks a deliberate return to the pre-Bloomberg days, when nearly every child was automatically passed, even though a majority flunked the tests. While children might cheer, no one who cares about preparing them for the future can — least of all those who style themselves progressive.
That’s why The Post has long campaigned to end social promotion. A decade ago, we argued that promoting kids who aren’t ready means many will never catch up. And we applauded then-Mayor Mike Bloomberg and then-Chancellor Joel Klein for sacking Panel for Education Policy members who backed the status quo.
Now, we understand the practical challenge facing Fariña: With so many kids failing the new Common Core tests, too many might be held back for the schools to handle. But the answer’s not to ignore the tests, it’s to make sure kids can pass them.
Given de Blasio’s boasts about the magic of universal pre-K, New Yorkers might have thought this was his solution. But if pre-K is really going to deliver what de Blasio and Fariña claim — higher achievement in later grades — they should be for measuring that achievement instead of taking test results out of promotion.
In The Post on Wednesday, parent advocate Mona Davids asked the mayor the key question: “What’s the plan, Bill” for improving the city’s public schools?
Now we know the answer: Give up — and just pretend the kids are learning.