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NEW YORK, NY August 29, 2005 —Almost seven thousand third and fifth graders who were in danger of being held back, will now move on to the next grade after passing summer school. WNYC's Beth Fertig has more.

REPORTER: Fifty-five percent of the third graders who scored at the lowest levels on their math or reading tests last spring were able to pass when they took the exams over in August. That's an increase of 6 percentage points over last summer.

But almost 3,200 third graders are still being held back - slightly more than last year. The policy of ending social promotion was also applied to fifth graders this year. Mayor Bloomberg says it was equally successful because 43 percent of fifth graders who went to summer school are now being promoted.

BLOOMBERG: This is about changing lives. This is about giving young children a new opportunity.

REPORTER: Bloomberg plans to expand the policy to 7th graders. But his Democratic opponents claim students need more resources in addition to testing. For WNYC I'm Beth Fertig.