Son's School Is Threatening To Hold Him Back Even Though He Has An "a" In The Class ?

This year, my kid started his 4th grade math class. In our private school each student is assigned a grade according to their age and a grade placement for math according to their scores on a placement test.

He was placed in math class one year head at the beginning of last year based on his teachers recommendation and his placement scores. While he did have some trouble with penmanship due to ADHD, he ended the school year with a high B.

During the parent teacher conferences with his math teacher, she made some concerning remarks regarding my sons age. She indicated that in her mind, he should be in a lower class due to his age and that he would need to "prove" himself to her if he intended to remain in his class. We immediately assumed that my student must be having strong academic problems in the class. However, after follow up we found that he actually had an A in the class by way off his assignments and test at that time. When we asked the teacher to provide the criteria for which he was being assessed - She indicated that my son (as opposed to the other kids in class) would need to maintain an "A" if he was remain in his earned classroom - otherwise she would recommend demotion.

She noted some instances of small errors in his work - such as placing a circle around his answers instead of a box, handwriting , or mis-spelling labels for his answers. There were instance where he made some calculation errors but they were limited . All these errors in aggregate when accounted for still yielded a good passing grade.

The type of one off separate assessment for one child in feels extremely inequitable . Particularly, since it runs counter to the formal grading policy of the school and what is applied to every other student. He has been placed into the class using the same process and has successfully matriculated into the class the same as all the other classmates. He has never experienced any issues with behavior or academic performance. My husband and I are extremely frustrated and think a public demotion would not only be hurtful but is unfair. While my son is the only minority, we do not have any indication that his treatment is racially based . We feel helpless because our school is private. We are not angry at the school - but do not wish to see him lose a year of math education for no reason when he has fulfilled their documented requirements.

Edit for clarity :

Thank you so much for responding. The information is truly helpful and grounding. While we do not disagree with the use of assessments at large, what we do not understand is how the school can have 200 students - All 200 students are placed into classes using the same process. The grading policy indicates that all students pass the course with a C . Except for one singular student that the school determines has to have an A in order to continue his class, less he be demoted and lose a year of education when the student has followed the same process that the school prescribed for all their students.

I guess we are trying to understand what standards for equity applies to private schools as well ?