Retention of students began soon after the introduction of graded elementary schools in the mid-1800s. As early as 1911, research started to show that retention failed to remedy the difficulties of academic achievement and social adjustment exposed through graded schools. Educators today have a number of options other than retention designed to…

Many schools across the United States have created a new grade between kindergarten and first grade, called transition classes, to deal with low-achieving kindergarten and first-grade students. Upon completion of the transition class, students return to a regular class, where they usually remain a year behind their age cohorts. This paper presents…

The subject of grade retention has generated substantial theoretical, empirical, and practical attention for almost a century. However, few conclusive statements regarding this widespread practice can be made, and the literature has generated mixed results. Reviews of the literature prompt many questions: Does retaining a child in grade increase…

Children who have been retained even at the kindergarten or first grade level, regardless of their socioeconomic status, are at risk of dropping out later on. Alternative or pullout programs may not be suitable compensatory approaches for preventing school dropouts. Five changes will help to mitigate the effects of retention on student dropouts.…

In general, retention at any grade level has not improved student achievement or social adjustment. Skimpy data on transition rooms seem to indicate that they are not very successful either. The reasons that have been given to explain why retention has not worked range from the school's inability to diagnose student needs to rigid curriculum and…

A survey of attitudes toward education reflects the change from elitism to egalitarianism and points up the problem of redoublement or grade repetition. The French government is taking action in response to these phenomena. (JH)

This study is an attempt to provide organized and relevant objective evidence which can be used to improve student decisions. (Author)

Examined usefulness of the Gesell Preschool Test (GPT), a developmental readiness test used by teachers and school psychologists to determine a child's readiness to begin formal instruction. Results revealed that, after accounting for effects of math and reading achievement, GPT failed to contribute to the discrimination of 30 retained and 58…

At some time in most teachers' professional lives, they will be faced with making a decision about retaining a student. Although many teachers choose to retain students because they believe it will benefit the student, most studies find the practice of retention either harmful or ineffective. After a review of the literature, a survey was…

A study investigated whether retention is an effective method for remediating low-level readers. It was hypothesized that there would not be a significant difference in reading test scores of low level readers between those who were retained in second grade and those who were promoted to third grade. The Metropolitan Achievement Test was used as a…

At the end of the 1999-2000 school year, 9,175 students in grades 3-8 in the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS), North Carolina, failed to score at or above grade level on either reading or mathematics, or both sections of the North Carolina End-of-Grade (EOG) tests. Under the new WCPSS promotion/intervention policy in effect for the…

Data from the Texas Education Association (TEA) show that 177,340 students (4.6 percent) in kindergarten through grade 12 were retained in 2001-02. This is enough students to fill Texas Stadium more than 2.5 times. Of this number, roughly 59,812 were elementary school students (grades kindergarten through six). There are several problems with in…

No longer will New York City elementary school children be promoted to the next grade, even though they are known to be over two years behind grade level in reading. (Author)

This follow-up study reports the failure-promotion experience of Kentucky first-graders of 1968-69 and relates their academic success or failure to their ages of entering first grade. The rate of first grade repeaters in Kentucky is disappointingly high and a youngster who attempts first grade twice is not substantially better off than he was the…

Reviews the history of the practice of having students repeat grades and examines the research both for and against the practice. (FL)