Journal of Education & Social Policy

School Characteristics and the Implementation of Automatic Promotion: Implications for Literacy in English-speaking Primary Schools in Cameroon
ENDELEY Margaret Nalova

Abstract
There are concerns about the effects of automatic promotion on quality. However, this may differ according to school type or characteristics. The study was a survey that assessed the extent to which types of schools differ in practicing automatic promotion and the effects on literacy achievement of final year pupils from 18 schools in six randomly selected divisions of the two English-speaking regions of Cameroon. 18 teachers and 727 pupils participated and data were collected through an interview and an achievement test which was an extract of the English language paper of the 2013/2014 First School Leaving Certificate Examination. The validity and reliability of the test had already been established by the Ministry of Basic Education. Data were analyzed descriptively and inferentially. Findings revealed that the effects of automatic promotion on literacy is generally negative but differs by school type with the public schools having the lowest literacy achievement rates.

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