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Article: Howard Cracks Down On Eighth-Graders; Goal Is to Motivate Students, Parents
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- May 26, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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Eighth-graders in Howard County who fail the state's basic-skills
functional tests must attend summer school or they will be held back,
under an unusually tough policy passed yesterday by the Board of
Education that will take effect next school year.
Furthermore, any middle school student who gets a final grade
lower than C in any core subject will be considered for retention.
School officials began to rethink their standards after a study
two years ago found that the county's middle-schoolers generally had
little motivation to do the work required of them.
"We really need to get [parents
] to care . . . sooner rather than
later that their child does not have the skills required for high