Once a school system, with the support of the school board, has determined it will seek alternatives to traditional promotion practices, it is a good idea for teachers and principals to visit other districts where successful efforts are in place. Teachers should be heavily involved in planning and strategizing ways to improve their own skills for dealing with failing students. Parents and the community should be informed of developments throughout the design and implementation of any plan. In addition, considerable time should be spent designing basic school policies for curriculum and student assessment, as well as creating an appropriate report card. General suggestions for facilitating changes are detailed in the following steps:

1. Assess current practices of retention and social promotion to determine what has worked and what hasn't. Data such as grades, test scores, behavioral referrals, and dropout information can help to inform and guide decisions.
2. Familiarize staff with literature and research on the topic of student promotion.
3. Visit other schools that have successfully implemented programs to combat social promotion and retention.
4. Involve teachers in all phases of planning and implementation (their support of all efforts is critical).
5. Investigate state policies and any legislation that could hinder or support implementation of alternatives.
6. Communicate with parents and the broader community. As previously stated, this issue can be very volatile, so open communication with all stakeholders is a must.
7. Examine alternatives and design a policy that is clear, straightforward, and flexible enough to meet the needs of all students. (Refer to What Are The Alternatives? and Clear Policies Encourage Positive Strategies for more information on alternatives and policy design.)
8. Invest in appropriate professional development for teachers. Some researchers assert that teacher expertise is the single most important determinant of student performance. They point out that as much as 40 percent of the difference in overall student performance can be accounted for by teacher expertise (Darling-Hammond, 1998).
9. Use diagnostic testing with all students to provide you with a clear picture of students' abilities, particularly in reading since it is key to all other academic success (Kelly, 1999). Use this information to guide remediation efforts.
10. Augment assessment strategies to include methods beyond traditional standardized tests.
11. Proceed slowly with all changes and ensure that there is continuity of practice from teacher to teacher and grade to grade (effective, lasting change takes consistency and time).
12. Monitor implementation and be prepared to adjust efforts if what you're doing isn't working.

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