nonpromotion

plural nonpromotions

1. countableuncountableFailure to promote a person to a higher rank.

   It is true that there are men to be found who never rise beyond a curacy; as there are grey-headed midshipmen occasionally to be seen in the navy. But the former case is quite as rare as the latter; promotion is the rule, non-promotion the exception, in both professions.

   1854, The Edinburgh Review or Critical Journal, page 114

2. UScountableuncountableeducationThe holding back of a pupil instead of advancing them to the next year of studies.

   The first group consisted of the Black teachers who expressed ambivalence and concern that students would be emotionally hurt by nonpromotions. The second group consisted of gregarious, highly spirited teachers.

   1990, Kofi Lomotey, Going to School: The African-American Experience, page 62