More than 2,200 public school 8- and 9-year-olds flunked third grade last year — the highest number to be held back in six years, new data show.
This means the Department of Education compelled nearly 4.4 percent of last year’s third-grade class to repeat the grade this school year.
By contrast, no other grade in elementary or middle school had more than 2.4 percent of students held back in 2012 — making it the second straight year that third-graders landed in the bottom of the pack.
In 2011, 4.2 percent of the third-grade class was held back a grade.
Department of Education officials attributed the third-graders’ woes in part to the fact that it’s the first grade in which they’re exposed to high-stakes exams — making it likelier that they may bomb the tests.
Read more: nypost.com
