Grade Level Retention: Is It Our Best Alternative?

As an educator of young children have you ever reflected back to THAT student-the one you retained-and wondered if you made the right decision?  Have you spent countless hours deciding just the right way to approach a student’s parents to convince them that their child should repeat the current grade?  Few educators can say they have never faced this dilemma at least once during their career.  The No Child Left Behind Act and accountability standards currently in place in education hold both the students and the teachers to a level that demands high performance or the only other alternative...failure. Contradictory to this pass/fail mindset is a decade of research which has proven that grade level retention at any time during a student’s school career is detrimental.

Let’s take a look at what research tells us as educators making these decisions:

     Students who are retained:

• are more likely male than female
• are more likely to be from a minority group
• at least once during their school career are much more likely than their peers to drop out of school by age 17. Multiple retentions increases the chances of dropping out to almost 100%!
• are more likely to have significant increases in behavior problems
• exhibit lowered self-esteem
• have lower attendance in school during subsequent years
• are more likely to engage in activities that impact their health upon reaching adolescence. Some examples are alcohol use, drug abuse, increased sexual activity and even suicidal tendencies.
• have poor peer relationships compared to other students of the same age
• are more likely to rely on government assistance upon reaching adulthood. They are less likely to hold a full time job.

Students who repeat a grade early in their school career may initially show some academic gains. Follow-up information on these students show that this affect only lasts for two to three years before the student falls behind again.  Students who have been retained during their elementary years are usually the very same students that may be considered for retention upon reaching middle and high school.  Retention at any level is the single most powerful indicator of a student’s chances of dropping out of school. As educators we need to begin looking at alternatives to grade level retention.

Some alternate considerations include:

1. early intervention (k-2) before the student is so far behind peers
2. one-on-one or small group tutoring
3. private tutoring
4. counseling/ adult mentoring
5. reading intervention (reading is the area rated highest as reason for retention)
6. homework alternatives
7. summer school or summer acceleration classes
8. advocating for more parental involvement
9. use of ongoing formative assessment and progress monitoring to set short term goals rather than relying solely on summative assessments for information
10. utilizing the problem-solving team to identify the specific areas of weakness for each at risk student

Many politicians and even some educators feel that ending the practice of retention leads to social promotion. This means students are passed on to the next grade without meeting the academic goals of the current year. These students are passed on to the next level with their peers. Many in the public feel that educators are not doing their job a student is sent to the next grade level before he is academically ready. So, educators, what is our answer?  We need to implement a system of preparing students for the next grade level with interventions in place for support where it is needed. This practice is not social promotion but rather it is a way to combat the negative impact that grade level retention has on students. Educators must utilize research-based instructional strategies to support the student(s) in need. Achieving this level of effectiveness and intervention correlates with the Response to Intervention model.  Many states are using this model in their quest for a solution. 

 

As educators, it is our job to find a solution, not be a part of the problem. Retention is no longer the correct answer!