Parents, teachers, and principals were surveyed to determine their views on grade repetition. Results show that it is still recommended practice in the schools and is supported by parents. Effort must be made to acquaint parents, teachers, and principals with research on retention and possible alternatives. (Author/JD)

This paper uses data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) to investigate the effects of early motherhood on the academic and behavioral outcomes of these mothers' children. The NLSY follows 12,686 young people who were age 14-21 years in 1979 with annual or biannual interviews. African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and poor…

Suggests there is no "one-size-fits-all" solution to grade-repetition problems. A 12-step program to help principals implement high standards and help most students achieve them calls for placing incoming students in the most appropriate grade or program, having programs to meet varied needs, hiring teachers who use varied teaching methods,…

Describes two programs that serve as alternatives to social promotion or retention for at-risk students. The Spotswood Elementary School in Harrisonburg, Virginia, uses a team approach to meet needs of low-performing students. The Excel program in St. Paul, Minnesota, is a 15-month enrichment program for at-risk students designed to yield a…

Compared grade-retained high school students (n=38) with matched nonretained students. Retained student were lower on scholastic variables and self-esteem and were more often absent. The later student was retained was associated with lower grades, educational expectations, and self-control; more discipline problems and external locus of control;…

Former California Governor Pete Wilson's "social promotion" package, requiring districts to adopt new promotion policies based on state-mandated test results, is misguided. All retention or promotion decisions should be supported by multiple forms of evidence. Test scores should be buttressed by other information, such as grades and…

State and district accountability systems are increasingly including retention in grade for young students who do not demonstrate adequate reading achievement levels. This article examines the research on the effectiveness of retention and other responses, including social promotion, and the growing parental practice of "academic redshirting" of…

Grade retention and delayed entry to kindergarten are two of the major causes of overaged students in middle school. While data is often difficult to obtain, the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988 reported that 20 percent of all eighth graders had repeated at least one grade (Wheelock 1998). In South Carolina, where students are…

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of using re-reading as a consequence for failing to read passages rapidly with zero errors using the "Direct Instruction approach with Corrective Reading, Skills Applications: Decoding C" (Engelmann, Meyer, Johnson, & Carnine, 1988). The participant was a 16-year-old high school student…

This study examines the demographic, academic, social, and behavioral differences between GED (General Educational Development) candidates who were and were not retained in grade. Differences between candidates who were and were not retained in grade are examined with regard to factors such as demographics, delinquent behaviors, reasons for…

Low-achieving students in many school districts are retained in a grade in order to allow them to gain the academic or social skills that teachers believe are necessary to succeed academically. This practice is highly controversial, with many researchers claiming that it leads to higher dropout rates although selection issues have complicated…

We discuss the evidence on the effectiveness of preschool programs using results from three well-known intervention studies: the Chicago Child-Parent Centers, High/Scope Perry Preschool Program, and the Carolina Abecedarian Project. Results from cost-benefit analyses of other programs for younger and older children also are reported. Given that…

Educational research has found few benefits of preprimary school nonpromotion; nevertheless, in many countries the practice remains quite common. The aim of this study is to extend knowledge regarding preprimary nonpromotion via investigation of a wide set of child and family characteristics deemed predictive and discriminative of different…

Chris Altman stresses the importance of helping English language learners ascertain the medium they best work with in interpreting information presented in class. Altman reminds us that meaning does not come directly from teachers giving students information, but from students productively making meaning and clarifying understanding through a…

K-12 students enter physical education with many naive conceptions or misconceptions of how motor skills are acquired. One goal of physical education is to teach concepts that will help students learn and perform motor skills, but many practitioners don't know how to provide experiences that will teach students to apply their knowledge…