In my own experience, I have often seen children that struggled learning to read or master basic numeracy in primary grades, being the students that were most vulnerable learners as they entered Grade 8 and 9. The graduation rates for these students was always very much lower than those that were successful through their primary program.
I would love to see a primary program that was totally non-graded for what we currently have as Grades 1-3. Children should have the opportunity to learn in a totally fluid setting where participation in the learning activities are based not on age, but on the ability to be successfully engaged in the learning activity. To make this happen, I would see a student/teacher ratio of 10:1. For the kids to be totally engaged in learning, let’s also drop the pretense of subjects at this age and stick to Language Arts and Math with topic themes the focus rather than a subject. Play and social interaction is essential, but so are routines and self-discipline. If we see children remaining in this environment until they are no longer learning to read, but can read to learn, and their math skills have progressed to commensurate level, we would see a dramatic drop in learning issues in later graded programs. Yes it will take a redistribution of resources, but when the majority of learning assistance takes place in the primary years, we will not need as much support in upper intermediate through high school. I am curious to know if anyone has any direct experience with non-graded programs and could share their perspective.
Reference:
Pavan, B.N. (1992). The Bennefits of Nongraded Schools. Educational Leadership, 50(2), 22-25. Retrieved 3 November, 2015, from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/oct92/vol50/num02/The-Benefits-of-Nongraded-Schools.aspx