What happens if a general education student in third grade fails the state exams?

Dakota Fanning Fan: What happens if a general education student in third grade fails the state exams?
I need to know as I have a friend who is in third grade. I’m not sure if they have to repeat the grade. He is doing really well in school but he is nervous if he fails the state exam. What would happen when he fails the exam? It would be a shame to have him repeat third grade. He just doesn’t do well under pressure. Does this mean he will have to repeat third grade three times? Will the school promote him eventually? Will he not get a diploma if he doesn’t pass the state exams? What does No Child Left Behind Act have to do with this?

Answers and Views:

Answer by Katie S
OUCH , um I think they get held back, the exams are everything, but usually the kids know it, and they take it seriously. but the exams say weather they pass or not but maybe there is the option of summer school or taking it again

Answer by OMGiamgoingNUTS
They do have ‘other’ options. Their portfolio that is held with the teacher in the classroom can help for one. Have your friend ask the teacher how his portfolio looks. Also they do have ‘make up’ test for these state test also. We live in florida and it’s called the FCAT – which we call HORRID. I think it’s totally insane..however it’s how they do things here. Now as for No Child Left Behind..have a look here:
Final note: I personally think they focus on too much of this … it’s totally insane for ONE test to be given and if the child fails he doesn’t pass the grade. Have your friend talk to his teacher about options for testing just incase he doesn’t pass. (the first time)

Answer by jdeekdee
The state tests IS ‘no child left behind’. THis law is the reason these state tests are done.
Each state is different, I know in Texas the child has to repeat the grade if they fail the test in the 3rd grade.
You have some good questions here but I dont’ know the answers to them, sorry.

Answer by brianswife
the state testing for 3rd graders is not a pass or fail test. It is a test that the state uses to see how well the kids are doing and at what level they are at. if He does bad it will not effect him going on the 4th grade. it just tells the state education board that the school he attends is doing good or bad in keeping the kids up were they are supposed to be. the state tests all 3rd graders then they compile the test scores for that area or county and then they tell the school district if they are were they are supposed to be. and the No child left Behind act has to do with making sure that your school is doing the right thing.

Answer by Raspberry_Tart
Our school is real good about getting the kids all upset and anxious over the annual standardized tests, but in reality the scores don’t affect the kids at all. The scores determine whether the school is performing well, and they can also be useful in determining if a child needs help in a certain area. But a child who does well in school overall is not going to be left back due to poor test scores.

Answer by Lysa
The state tests do not have anything to do with a child passing or failing a grade. All they do is test the children to see how well they are performing to that state’s standard. His score will not affect him as much he believes, but it will affect his school. The more children who do poorly in a school, the more mandates and penalties it will incur. (On the other hand, depending on how the school uses the information, his scores may help to decide what kind of instruction he receives in the future- gifted classes, remedial reading class,… )

.Some posters have stated that the tests show how well the school is doing, but sadly this is far from the truth. According the NCLB law, each state chooses their own standards. So some states have chosen ridiculously low standards, while others have chosen impossibly high ones. Consequently saying that a school in a state with high standards that did not make adequate growth according to the NCLB laws and is therefore labeled as “failing”, is not doing as well a school in a state that has low standards and did make adequate growth, and is labeled as “passing”, is like comparing apples and oranges. Within a state, there is a similar problem. In general wealthy children do better on the test than lower income children; lower income urban children better than lower income rural children.