I agree. This sounds unfair. Has your son ever been tested for special education? Maybe, he has some kind of learning disability (I've heard this is common in preemies) and he would most likely benfit from school services. If he has a diagnosed learning disability the the school is REQUIRED to provide services by LAW. Look into testing.

This is a very common concern in our schools. Having been a teacher, I understand the teacher's perspective. It sounds like you are frustrated, and I'm glad to see your son has you fighting for him. However, many of these reading groups have limits to them and your son might not technically qualify for the help. I have had some kids who I have fought for because the assessment showed they scored slightly above the cut-off. They needed the help and through restructuring I was able to get them in, albeit not for a long period of time but at least they received some services.

I don't know the program your school uses, but it is very difficult to get the one-on-one tutoring. Unless your son is receiving special education services and it is a part of IEP, then he is not required to have the one-on-one help. Finally, as for retaining your son, not all is lost. Retention has been shown to work only if the teacher a child has the second go round has a drastically different teaching style than the one he currently has.  

I wish you the best and your son does have an advantage. He has you on his side being his champion, many children don't have that. Form a teacher I say thank you!

Many times schools do not test for special education until after the first grade.  This gives the child a chance to mature with peers.  I have taught both first grade and special education (I am now back to special education.. it is much more my spot)  As a first grade teacher we had to have reading groups, but there are not enough hours in the day to do one on one work.  I would set up a meeting with your teacher and counselor (we call these SAS's) to discuss your childs needs and your concerns.  Good Luck!

I too was told in January that they were considering retention for my son who was having difficulty with reading and writing.  The IST team told me that he had tested just above the cut-off to qualify for one-on-one reading help.  I contacted the Principal and insisted that she provide this for him.  She actually went and sat with my son for an hour and had him read to her and she did enroll him into the Reading Recovery Program and she recommended him for a speech evaluation.  Come to find out he has a mild speech disability which is what is interfering with him reading correctly.  We now have an IEP in place which includes speech therapy and reading recovery program.

I am still fighting the grade retention...so much research has been done on how it can be detromental to the child's self-esteem.  I have a follow-up meeting tomorrow with the IST team and I have requested that the principal be present at the meeting. (She has final say in who is retained).  Keeping my fingers crossed that she will go for "Promotion Plus" - which is promoting student to the next grade with additional assistance in place.

You should request the school perform and evaluation on your son - get him classified with IEP in place.  You need to be his advocate.  Good Luck!!  Remember, as awful as it sounds - the No Child Gets Left Behind Law has put tremendous pressure on the schools - they don't want to promote a child who will bring down the scores for the testing.

I am in the exact same situation! My son is 7, December birthday, also born premature at 31 weeks. He is much smaller than the other kids. The teacher sites the exact same issues you mention... He is good at reading and spelling but his reading comprehension is an issue and he struggles in math. He is not confident at all and tends to just check out . He has had had to work so hard this year, even with a private tutor and special help at school. She says he just does not seem as mature as the other students. Now it is the end of the year and his grades are OK to go to 2nd grade, but just marginally, and that 2nd grade will be a real struggle for him. At first I was so upset at the thought of retaining him, but now i am thinking that perhaps it will be best. I don't want to see him continue to struggle and cry before school because he thinks it is too hard. I hate to see him retained for social reasons because i think he will miss his friends but the teacher assures me he is well liked and makes friends easily. But i read all these conflicting opinions on the web and just don't know the right answer. Please let me know what you have decided.

I too have a preemie now in grade 1, she too is having problems with math and reading comprehension. They are now doing an evaluation from the years class work and tests. There is help that we can get and im pursuing it, I want her to repeat in first grade back at this level for several reasons really                                                                    1   she wont feel it as bad as when she is say 10 or 12                      
2    i figure she has done it all once so it might be easier to pick up
      second time around
3   she fought to be hear so i am doing this for her and my pride cant
     get in the way
4    this year will be make or break

if this doesnt work then i will need to speak to the experts i suppose