More students were promoted this school year after attending summer school in 2012, according to a GothamSchools report. New Department of Education data released last Friday showed that 7,540 students in third- through eighth- grade (which amounts to 2% of students in city schools) were required to repeat their year after attending summer school, compared to 9,122 in 2011. The DOE said that the decline was due to more students passing state tests, and it could also be a result of new regulations introduced last year that allow overage students who have been held back multiple times to proceed to the next grade.
Fewer New York City students were suspended last fall than the previous fall, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Last summer, the DOE relaxed disciplinary rules, saying that schools could no longer suspend students for more minor incidents such as swearing, smoking or leaving school without permission.