Social promotion is an ongoing issue in education and is frequently seen as a dichotomy with retention. While retention is a commonly researched topic, the information regarding the academic and behavioral outcomes of socially promoted students is much sparser. The problem is that many students who are socially promoted into high school after failing a high-stakes test in eighth grade may not be academically successful on high-stakes tests in high school, may have high school attendance and discipline troubles, and may not successfully complete high school when compared with students who have not been socially promoted. The purpose of this quantitative comparative study utilizing secondary analysis of data was to examine group differences between students who were labeled as socially promoted into high school after failing a gateway exam in the eighth grade and those students who were academically promoted by comparing results of multiple high-stakes tests in high school, high school attendance, high school discipline, and high school graduation in order to apply and further extend labeling theory into the field of education. The population studied was the cohort of students who entered high school in Georgia in the 2007-2008 school year. An analytic data set of 1615 students from a suburban school district was collected and stratified into two groups by promotion status based on their eighth grade CRCT results. The data from the selected students were compiled from their four-year high school careers and analyzed. Logistic regressions were used to determine the relationships between promotion status and high-stakes test results, promotion status and discipline, and promotion status and graduation status while controlling for race/ethnicity. These analyses showed that students who were labeled as socially promoted were less likely to pass high-stakes tests, more likely to have a violent discipline referral, and less likely to graduate from high school. Two-way ANOVAs (promotion status x race/ethnicity) were conducted to determine the relationship between promotion status, race/ethnicity, and attendance rates and to further examine the relationship between promotion status, race/ethnicity, and high-stakes tests scores. These analyses showed that students who were labeled as socially promoted had lower average attendance rates and high-stakes tests scores. These results suggest that the academic and behavioral outcomes for socially promoted students are poorer than those for academically promoted students. Recommendations for future research include a study to examine the socio-emotional aspects of social promotion in order to further examine the effects of labeling on socially promoted students. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]