Which will mean thousands of struggling young people will have long interruptions in their educations — and are that much less likely to make up ground.
This year, the city recommended that just 19,400 third- through eighth-grade students take summer classes — 6.2% of all eligible kids, down from 7.4% last year and 10% the year before that.
And if last year — when just 1.2% of students were held back at the end of summer, half the rate of 2013 — is any indication, that will result in far fewer kids repeating a grade.
The evidence strongly suggests a return to social promotion in the public schools.