Georgia schools balk at state law mandating retentions

Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Heather Vogell and computer-assisted reporting specialist John Perry found that Georgia schools routinely promote students who state law says should stay back because they're falling behind. The law, aimed at stopping so-called "social promotion," requires schools to retain students in grades 3, 5 and 8 who can't pass certain standardized tests.But the vast majority are moved up anyway, the AJC found , even when they repeatedly fail or blow off a retest altogether. Vogell and Perry examined nearly 800,000 records showing student test performance and promotion status.