Grade Retention
Education news, analysis, and opinion about holding students back for a year in school, including the practice of “redshirting”
Student Achievement
From Our Research Center
Tens of Thousands of Students May Have to Repeat a Grade. Should They?
The prospect of a spike in retentions flies in the face of a broad-based consensus that moving students ahead is usually more effective.
Assessment
Why Schools Are Not Holding Students Back to Address COVID-19 Learning Loss
District leaders cite evidence that retention doesn’t improve academic outcomes, and argue that holding large groups of students back will disproportionately hurt students of color and kids from low-income families.
Federal
Third Grade Retention of ELLs: New Research Sparks Furor
New research that suggests struggling English-learners could benefit from repeating 3rd grade is drawing strong pushback from scholars.
English Learners
Opinion
Don't Be Too Quick to Retain English-Language Learners
The researchers behind a splashy new study join two policy experts to urge great caution before holding back ELLs.
Early Childhood
Redshirting Debate Just Got New Fuel with ADHD Study
A study has shown more diagnoses of ADHD among kindergarten students who start school just before a Sept. 1 school enrollment cutoff date.
Reading & Literacy
3rd Grade Reading Retention: A Closer Look at North Carolina's Literacy Law
Nearly 14 percent of 3rd graders in North Carolina were "retained" last year for not meeting reading proficiency standards—but the numbers are more complicated than they seem.
Reading & Literacy
Should 3rd Grade Be the Pivot Point for Early Reading?
New research calls into question the widespread practice of retaining students in 3rd grade based on their reading proficiency.
Reading & Literacy
Early Grades Crucial in Path to Reading Proficiency
States press to ensure that students from kindergarten on get the literacy support they need to meet 3rd grade reading milestones.
Education
Nationwide Grade-Retention Rates Have Dropped, New Study Finds
A new study found that nationwide, the rate of students repeating a grade due to a lack of academic progress has declined from 2005 to 2010.
Student Achievement
Districts Weigh Student Retention With Stigma of Being 'Held-Back'
Many districts, including Los Angeles Unified, are not on board with a national push to end social promotion, and instead use mastery of material to determine whether students should move to the next grade.
States
Opinion
Holding Kids Back Doesn't Help Them
At a time when more states are moving to retain struggling students in lower grades, research shows that such efforts are counterproductive, Deborah Stipek and Michael Lombardo say.
Early Childhood
Opinion
How Serious Are We About Early Learning?
Children need a serious commitment from schools and policymakers to support early-learning efforts, Barbara O'Brien writes.
Student Achievement
Opinion
Really!?! Joel Klein
NYC's Panel for Education Policy voted tonight to require 8th graders to score above level 1 on reading and math tests and pass core courses in order to be promoted. Meanwhile, last week Joel Klein wanted to invest a hypothetical billionaire's bling in a research institute - "There are two things that I would do with this money. One, I would try to set up a national institute for educational policy that does serious research. This is an industry in which there are so many myths, and that’s because there are such large gaps in our knowledge right now."
