Title Research: The Impact of Mass Promotion on Student Literacy in

Elementary School

INTRODUCTION:

Retention versus promotion, according to the National Association of

School Psychologists, is a wrong way of looking at education. Educators must
instead focus on providing all students access to effective and equitable
education. A student failing to learn inside a classroom strikes deep at the heart
of an educational system. Mass promotion, on the other hand, allows children to
be passed to the next level with no accountability. The issue of retention versus
promotion has been the subject of a recent news item in the Philippines.
Retention versus promotion has been the topic of various research studies in the
past decades. The number of studies unfortunately does not translate to how well
effects of retention versus mass promotion on learning outcomes are now
understood. There is great difficulty in deciphering exactly how retention or
promotion affects education for one important reason: The fact that retention
versus promotion is being considered means that something is already wrong.
Otherwise, there would not be any question. Factors affecting learning outcomes
are already present so that what happens in the future probably does not depend
too much on whether a student is retained or promoted. What matters more is
what educators do in response when a student is not meeting the expected
goals. This goes far beyond retaining or promoting. Neither retention nor
promotion really addresses the problem. It is this reason why studies on how
retention affects students over the past decades has been unclear.
At the end of school year, every teachers have mixed emotions on the
outcome of their students. Some will definitely happy and excited but some might
as well be lonely and anxious. Each one would ask “ Is this child will be promoted
or will retain“ Well, it depends on how each learner performed in their
classrooms as being assessed by their respective teachers. The teachers’
decision on promoting a learner to the next grade or retaining a learner on the
same grade must be based on the evidence and judicious.
Going to school regularly is crucially important to a student’s education
and social skills. School gives you the opportunity to learn basic knowledge of
different subjects. You learn to write, read and count and it would not be possible
when we stay at home. A student failing to learn inside a classroom strikes deep
at the heart of an educational system. Mass promotion, on the other hand, allows
children to be passed to the next level with no accountability. The issue of
retention versus promotion has been the subject of a recent news item in the
Philippines:
DepEd Order No. 73. S. 2012 defines promotion and retention by subject
and not grade level. It is not surprising then that there is confusion. Students who
fail in a subject are expected to erase these deficiencies over the summer. Right
at the beginning, there is the question of how a student who failed because of
truancy would fit in this procedure.

Mass promotion of failed students, otherwise known as social or

administrative promotion, is fast replacing class repetition as the alternative
response to poor educational achievement. It is an arrangement which allows
failed students to proceed to the next higher class despite the fact of failing
the previous class.
II. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

During the previous years, the system of promoting students in elementary

and secondary level was so straightforward to the extent that the learners had to
suffer the consequence of repeating the same level of schooling once they failed
to meet the grade point average.

Today, on one hand, the discretion of the government highlighted under

the Department of Education (DepED) to promote a student, though he is not
qualified to be endorsed to the next grade level or year level, is the existing rule
in the country’s system on education. As an illustration, a certain student’s failure
to read simple words or compute even a sole digit to another single digit number
might already be a ground for his disqualification to be promoted. In lined with
this scenario, there would be, for sure, a bigger problem if the school allows him
to advance to the next level because the quality of education will suffer. Besides,
there is no certainty that the dignity of educators will remain because their
authority to evaluate and decide is already suppressed whether a particular
student is competent or not. This clearly interprets that they need to promote
students by all means because of the government’s irrevocable decision.

There is actually a big difference between quality and quantity and it does
not mean that a big number will always be the solution in relation to this issue.
What we need are dignified future leaders and not just great number of people
who will just bring predicament to our economy. What we want are people who
will choose to do what is right and who will apply the knowledge and right
conduct as member of the society. We do not like, consequently, people who will
just be dreamers with fading hopes.

We all desire to live in a more peaceful place with productive people and
we can only achieve this by educating students and by molding them to become
consecrated and committed to the work of excellence and there must be a
provision of rights among the teachers to decide whether a learner is really
qualified or not. If a student really deserves to suffer the consequence then let’s
give him the chance to improve his scholastic standing because mass promotion
is not really the solution to the Philippine educational system.

Mass Promotion is a problem that has plagued in the public school system
for a number of years. For me, as a teacher it is a burden that need to be
reconsider and to be abolished.
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Eboatu and Omenyi (2015) observed that most parents, teachers and students
have the view that class repetition has a remedial effect on students’academic
achievement but this view and the decision to repeat failed students is not
backed by empirical studies
Steinmayr, Meißner, Weidinger and Wirthwein (2014),
Academic achievement represents performance outcomes that indicate the
extent to which a person has accomplished specific goals that were the focus
of activities in instructional environments, specifically in school, college, and
university. According to Arul Lawrence and Vimala (2012)

Arul Lawrence, A.S. & Vimala, A. (2012). School Environment and Academic
Achievement of Standard IX Students.
Journal of European Scientific Journal October 2017 edition Vol.13, No.28 ISSN:
185 7881 (Print) e - ISSN 1857- 7431

Chen X. et al (2010) on grade retention and school performance in poor

areas in rural China showed that there is no positive effect of grade retention on
school performance of the students that were retained in rural areas. Whether in
the short term or longer term, they reject the hypothesis that grade retention
improves the scores of the students that were retained.

Myung et al. (2013) found that students who are retained in grades 1 to 5
perform in middle schools as well as their propensity matched, continuously
promoted peers, both academically and in terms of behavioral engagement and
feeling part of the school. Retention did not appear to offer any advantage to
these students, nor did it impede their performance in middle school.
Battistin, E., & Schizzerotto, A. (2012). Threat of grade retention, remedial
education and student achievement: Evidence from upper secondary schools in
Italy. IZA, Discussion Paper No. 7086, pp 1-52

Megan Andrew. The Scarring Effects of Primary-Grade Retention?

September 3, 2014 doi:10.1093/sf/sou074 The above study is published in the
journal Social Forces. It involves about 9000 students. To match students,
several factors which include race, gender, family income, parent's educational
attainment, immigration status, IQ scores, are taken into account to predict a
measure of likelihood to be retained. And the results are: Children who are
retained in primary school are 60 percent less likely to graduate high school than
children with similar backgrounds.
IV. THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK

This study examined the effects of mass promotion in individual,

students, teachers and school variables on the effects of mass promotion to our
educational system. The effects of teachers perception of the school environment
on mass promotion is positive to the student but not significant. But it’s affect to
the school whose exhibit mass promotion because they follow the rules even
though their students is not liable to pass.
In this regard, it is recommended that the pupils in Elementary
School focus on increasing students commitments to school in order to reduce to
students mass promotion. Parents of children should informed about the good
importance for achieving success and for providing protection for risk factors not
only in school life but also in the future.
 V. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

The conceptual framework is presented through the paradigm. It consists of the

input, process, and output. The input contains the Respondents, teachers, pupils,
parents, checklist and the questionnaires. The output contains the profile of the
respondents (pupils) in terms of name, age and sex, for the teachers it contains
name, age, sex and years in teaching in Elementary School... The process on
the other hand includes gathering data through distribution of survey
questionnaire-checklist and statistical treatment and hypothesis testing.

Input PROCESS

Respondents Gathering Data

A. Pupils
Interview
Name
Age
Checklist
Sex
Factors Why The pupils is always Descriptive Survey
absent
B. Teachers Home Visitation
Name
Age Analysis and Interpretation
Sex of the Data
Years in Teaching
C. Parents
Name
Age
Educational Background
Occupation
Common Factors Why There is
Mass Promotion
A. Domestic Related Factors
Attitude of parents towards
Schooling
Family Problems
B. Individual Related Factors
Illness
Poor Academic Performance
Lack of Interest/ Distraction
Hunger/Malnutrition
Bullying
OUTPUT

Attendance

Program to Lessen Mass

Promotion in Grade 6 Pupils

Attendance incentives
VI. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This study aim to investigate The Impact of Mass Promotion on Student

Literacy in Elementary School during S.Y. 2018-2019

More specifically, it seek answer to the following questions:

1. What factors affect the profile of the respondents in the following aspect?
a.. Enrolment Data
b. Health Condition
c. Academic performance
2. What is the the perception of teachers in Grade 2 involving Chronic
Absenteeism in Pupils’ Academic Performance?
3. To what content are the factors influence absenteeism?
5. What are the problems encountered of having an Chronic Absenteeism?
6.. What Enhancement program can be developed based on the result of the
study?
VII. HYPOTHESIS OF THE STUDY

The purpose of the study is made to find out the factors that causes of
Mass Promotion. This study helps the management of Elementary School,
especially to overcome problems about mass promotion among the students of
particularly in the faculty.
In addition, we also take the responsibility of in given awareness to each
student on the future impact on the attitude of those who prefer not to attend the
class and take easily for this kind of attitude. From these scenario we referring to
aims and to make of this study and the main objectives can be summarizing as
follows:

i) to study the factor of mass promotion among students and teachers.

ii) to measure what kind of gender that is most critically in mass promotion
issues.

iii) To give suggestions and solutions for further improvement towards mass
promotions among teachers.
VIII. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The study is significance since it offer to the following:

Parent- This study provided them information and insights to encourage their
children in schooling. The given data would help them formulate some preventive
measures to help their sons from skipping classes.
Students- the resuTeacherslt will proved the students with some knowledge on
the effect of habitual absent and how it can be avoided. It will give the students a
realization that being absent is not useful to both the student academic
performance and the people around him.
Teachers- the given data would guide the teachers on what to do with the
students that chronically absent in the class. The teachers would be able to
understand on why some students skip classes and later on help them.
Administrator- it provide information as to what really the major factors and
effect of chronically absenteeism on the Academic Performance of Grade 2
pupils in Elementary School.
Stakeholders- this study could provide relevant information on how to reduce
absenteeism using a attentance Ptogram to Lessen Absenteeism in Grade 2
Pupils at Elementary School by giving Attendance incentives.
Community- .The result of this study may benefit the community in as much they
know that the government and school worked hand in hand to uplift the academic
performance of the beneficiarie
Researcher. This may serve as inspiration in teaching her pupils above and
beyond her capacity.
Future Researcher. The information and insights that will be gained from this
study may serve as guide for other researcher in framing their conceptual
framework and design and at the same time encourage them to conduct lateral
studies within their area of preferences.
IX. SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The study focused on determining The Impact of Mass Promotion on Student

Literacy among Grade 6 pupils in Sta. Cruz Elementary School as perceived by
30 Teachers, 50 parent and 50 pupils respondents in Elementary Schools for the
S.Y. 2018-2019.
X. Definition of Terms

Attendance- is the concept of people, individually or as a group, appearing at a

location for a previously scheduled event. Measuring attendance is a significant
concern for many organizations, which can use such information to gauge the
effectiveness of their efforts and to plan for future efforts.(Wikipedia)

Absenteeism- prolonged absence of an owner from his or her property

Truancy- is any intentional, unjustified, unauthorized, or illegal absence from

compulsory education. It is absence caused by students of their own free will,
and usually does not refer to legitimate excused absences, such as ones related
to medical conditions. Truancy is usually explicitly defined in the school's
handbook of policies and procedures (Wikimedia EASP)

Tardy- Delaying or delayed beyond the right or expected time; late. (Oxford
Dictionary)
Pupil- a person who is taught by another, especially a schoolchild or student in
relation to a teacher. (Oxford Dictionary)

Teachers - teacher is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge,

competence or virtue.

Mass Promotion - s the practice of promoting students to the next grade level
even when they have not learned the material they were taught or achieved
expected learning standards.

Social promotion -- is often contrasted with retention, the practice of holding

students back and making them repeat a grade when they fail to meet academic
expectations, or strategies such as proficiency-based learning, which may
require students to demonstrate they have achieved academic expectations
before they are promoted to the next grade level. ( the glossary of education
reform)