The New York City school system will end "social promotions" for third graders this year. This move has proven very controversial since the mayor's hand picked school advisory board voted against it. Wielding the dictatorial powers granted to him over school policy, Mayor Bloomberg fired three of the members of the board and replaced them with more "reasonable" representatives. Critics claim that the mayor is up for reelection next year and he's just trying to generate improved test scores next year (in NYC, 4th graders are given high stakes tests). This is a difficult issue. Educators in Lowell have long maintained that research has shown that retaining (a/k/a "keeping back") a child doesn't necessarily improve that child's academic performance. That may be true, but if a child cannot read, pushing him through the system, hoping that he catches on eventually, doesn't help anyone.