Skip Ribbon Commands
Skip to main content


 Promotion and Retention Guidance


No third grade students shall be promoted to the fourth grade if the student does not achieve grade level on the state-adopted assessment in reading and meet the promotion standards and criteria established by the local board of education for the school that the student attends, in compliance with the Georgia Promotion, Placement, and Retention law (O.C.G.A. §§ 20-2-282 through 20-2-285) and State Board of Education Rule (160-4-2-.11).

No fifth grade student shall be promoted to the sixth grade if the student​ does not achieve grade level on the state-adopted assessments in reading and mathematics and meet promotion standards and criteria established by the local board of education for the school that the student attends.

No eighth grade student shall be promoted to the ninth grade if the student does not achieve grade level on the state-adopted assessments in reading and mathematics and meet promotion standards and criteria established by the local board of education for the school that the student attends.

Appeals

If a parent or guardian or teacher(s) appeals the decision to retain the student, then the school principal or designee shall establish a placement committee to consider the appeal. 

(i) The placement committee shall be comprised of the principal or designee, the student's parent or guardian, and the teacher(s) of the subject(s) of the state-adopted assessment or the alternative assessment instrument on which the student failed to perform at grade level. 

(ii) The principal or designee shall notify in writing by first-class mail the parent or guardian and teacher(s) of the time and place for convening the placement committee. 160-4-2-.11 

(iii) The placement committee shall review the overall academic achievement of the student in light of the performance on the state-adopted assessment or the alternative assessment instrument and promotion standards and criteria established by the local board of education for the school that the student attends, and make a determination to promote or retain. 

(iv) The decision to promote must be the unanimous decision of the placement committee and must determine that if promoted and given accelerated, differentiated, or additional instruction during the next year, the student is likely to perform at grade level by the conclusion of the school year. 

(v) The placement committee shall prescribe such additional assessments as may be appropriate in addition to assessments administered to other students at the grade level during the year. 

(vi) The placement committee shall provide for a plan of continuous assessment. 

This website provides you with resources to successfully implement the policy, including sample parent letters, links to letters from the individual systems across the state, translated letters for non-English students, guidance on implementing the policy, and a policy brief explaining the background and rationale behind the law. We hope you will find the site to be a valuable resource as you work to implement the law.

If you need additional information on policy issues related to the Promotion, Placement, and Retention rule, please contact the Policy Division at (404) 657-2965. If you have questions concerning the testing aspects of the rule, please contact the Testing Division at (404) 656-2668.

Downloads

Sample Letters
See Also

 
​​

 Contact Information

Tiffany Taylor
Deputy Superintendent
Policy, Flexibility, and External Affairs
Phone: (470) 510-7445
Fax: (770) 344-4320