Yo yo yo
Word up to Dan Brown
For showing how to break
A billionaire down
Shameful practice?
DOE, you’re just like a cactus
Soaking up data but ya head is all dry
Read the research, yo
I’m telling you why
My boy Brian Jacob and his main man Lars
Wrote a paper saying you’re down from Mars
For holding back kids when they’re 14 years old
Check their results, J.K., then see if you’re sold
Next time someone argues that rapping doesn’t require talent and skill, direct them to this post. You’ll handily win the argument.
Seriously, the Jacob and Lefgren paper, based on analysis of Chicago’s similarly structured 8th grade retention program, found that Chicago’s 8th grade retention policy increased the proportion of 8th grade retainees dropping out of high school. (However, Jacob and Lefgren found no effects of the 6th grade retention policy on students’ likelihood of dropping out of high school.) It’s a very thorough paper - take a look.