In thinking about the case of Candace described in Chapter 7 Section 7.5, do you think that Candace benefited or suffered as a result of consistently being passed on to the next grade?

Candace, a 14-year-old girl experiencing problems at school, was referred for a court-ordered psychological evaluation. She was in regular education classes in ninth grade and was failing every subject. Candace had never been a stellar student but had always been passed to the next grade. Frequently, she would curse at any of her teachers who called on her in class. She also got into fights with other students and occasionally shoplifted. When she arrived for the evaluation, Candace immediately said that she hated everything about school, including the teachers, the rest of the staff, the building, and the homework. Her parents stated that they felt their daughter was picked on, because she was of a different race than the teachers and most of the other students. When asked why she cursed at her teachers, Candace replied, “They only call on me when I don’t know the answer. I don’t want to say, ‘I don’t know’ all of the time and look like an idiot in front of my friends. The teachers embarrass me.” She was given a battery of tests, including an IQ test. Her score on the IQ test was 68.

Answer:

Candace was severely hampered by being consistently passed on to the next series.

Explanation:

As can be seen in the text above, Candace was "helped" by her teachers who often passed her on to the next grade, even though she failed all subjects. With that, they encouraged Candace not to try hard in her studies, not to try to grow academically, not to have discipline and not to realize that her negligence would have harmful consequences. With that she grew up as an inconsequential girl who does not value education and nothing that compose her. This hurt her a lot and will reflect negatively on her future.