How do proficiency-based accountability systems affect inequality in academic achievement? This article reconciles mixed findings in the literature by demonstrating that three factors jointly determine accountability's impact. First, by analyzing student-level data from a large urban school district, we find that when educators face accountability…

This annual report provides information for the 2012-13 school year on grade-level retention in the Texas public school system. Data on retention are provided by student characteristics, including grade level; race/ethnicity; gender; degree of English proficiency; and economic, at-risk, immigrant, migrant, and overage statuses. Data also are…

The enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 created a movement that focused on closing the achievement gap between students at-risk for failure and students who demonstrated academic achievement. The resilience paradigm surfaced as a result of research that showed the capacity of human beings to succeed in spite of risk and adversity. A…

The Texas legislature and the State Board of Education, recognizing the need for an alternative to student retention, established the Retention Reduction Pilot Program to provide additional days of instruction for students in first grade who would otherwise have been retained. The Optional Extended Year Program (OEYP) was initiated to expand…