What you should know about grade retention research
Every year the same question arises in schools across the country – should a child whose struggling repeat kindergarten, first grade, and so forth? Despite years and volumes of research about the harmful effects of retention as they relate to future achievement and mental health consequences, schools invariably opt to recommend retention, especially for children in the early grades. The National Association of School Psychologists published several reports over the past ten years that cite reviews and meta-analyses of all the research completed on retention. As a matter of fact, there is a whopping 100 years worth of research on grade retention. “The cumulative evidence does not support the use of grade retention as an intervention for academic achievement or socio-emotional adjustment problems. … retention at any grade level is associated with later high school dropout.” (NASP, 2003) Recent research overwhelmingly continues to support these findings although there are a few that found an academic benefit. The authors of those studies caution that the positive academic effects experienced by the retained students could have been due to the intensive tutoring they received during the year of retention.
Here’s a classic example to consider. You have a kindergarten student who has been struggling with reading all year. The issue has been discussed during parent teacher conferences with the plan of "keeping an eye" on the student as the year goes on. It’s now Spring and the student has demonstrated progress, yet his peers continue to out pace him. The classroom teacher is now recommending that the child repeat kindergarten since his reading skills are not on par with his peers. What’s a parent to do? First of all, is the recommendation solely based on reading achievement? Does the situation involve a child who has a late birthday and was frequently absent? Having been involved in a couple of circumstances with kindergarteners who should have been red-shirted due to age, yes, retention may be the right choice. In most cases though, age or absences aren't the issue, the decision to retain is based on the belief that the child will “outgrow” his reading and/or socio/emotional difficulty. Research shows that children with reading disabilities do not catch up to their peers by being given more of the same instruction. A struggling reader requires careful assessment and progress monitoring along with intervention provided by an instructor who is certified to implement scientifically proven structured literacy interventions, e.g., Wilson Reading System or a graduate of the Orton Gillingham Academy. In an ideal situation, the child should have been screened and provided with reading intervention throughout the year since it was apparent early on that he needed help. To quote Ben Franklin, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."
To return to the kindergarten student’s situation, the school is suggesting that given another year of the same curriculum the student will “get it” the second time around, feel good about himself and even be a leader in the class. Sounds positive right? Over the long term, citing more research, “sixth grade students rated grade retention as the single most stressful life event, higher than the loss of a parent or going blind.” (NASP 2002). For parents experiencing this dilemma, here are some good questions to ask – namely, what specialized instruction/intervention can be offered to the child next year and how often can the child receive this instruction? Also, does the school offer instructional support over the summer months and is the child eligible for the program? School-based supports such as specialized reading programs, summer school and after school tutoring programs have been identified by the International Dyslexia Association, the Learning Disability Association of America and the NASP as consistently demonstrating benefits for struggling students.
For more information on grade retention and reading disabilities the following organizations offer many resources: the Wrightslaw organization, the parent advocacy group, Decoding Dyslexia, the International Dyslexia Association and the National Association of School Psychologists.