Social promotion is the practice of promoting a student (usually a general education student, rather than a special education student) to the next grade after the current school year, regardless of when or whether they didn't learn the necessary materials or they are often absent, in order to keep them with their peers by age, that being the intended social grouping. It is sometimes referred to as promotion based on seat time, or the amount of time the child spent sitting in school. This is based on the requirements on how to enroll for Kindergarten normally at 4 or 5 years old (5 or 6 years old for 1st graders) at the beginning of the school year so a student can graduate from the high school level at either 17 or 18 years old.