Retention Revisited: Can Staying Back Move Students Forward?

In a new study, Early Grade Retention and Student Success: Evidence from Los Angeles, released by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), researchers reassessed the ability of retention to help failing students reach proficiency in Math and English.

Retention, which is a tactic that involves requiring students to repeat entire grade levels, has been criticized in the past as it has been regarded as ineffective in the long-term and emotionally distressing for students and parents.

As the U.S. education system continues to look for answers for failing students, this study aims to reopen the case for retention as a viable option. Analysts focused on early grade retention in LAUSD, California's largest school district, and found that many students retained by the 2nd grade saw improvements.

The study reports that 41 percent of retained students reached full proficiency in math and 18 percent in English Language Arts (ELA). These figures are a giant leap from the proficiency levels of these students prior to repeating a year: 6 percent in math, and only 1 percent in ELA.

The study also highlighted the risk factors, or the students most likely to be retained. The most significant indicator is age, as students who enter kindergarten early are increasingly more likely to be held back before the sixth grade. Another factor is sex. Boys are retained far more often than girls are. Low-income students and African American and Latino students were more likely to be retained.

There are many critics of retention, who continue to advocate for other solutions for students who are not meeting standards. The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) cites concerns over the increases in behavior problems associated with retained students and, though they concede that there may be some initial gains that occur, "the consistent trend across many research studies is that achievement gains decline within 2-3 years of retention."

A study done by the Institute of Child Development and published in the Journal of School Psychology in 1997 also found retention to be ineffective.

"The retained group showed a temporary advantage in math achievement, but this disappeared as both groups faced new material. Moreover, the retained group exhibited significantly lower emotional health in the sixth grade. It is concluded that elementary grade retention was an ineffective intervention for both achievement and adjustment."

Another problem with retention is the cost associated with students repeating a year of education. The Center for Development and Learning, a nonprofit organization that does research on strategies for success in education, estimates that retention costs $13 billion a year.

As lawmakers and educators continue to search for solutions, retention is a strategy that merits more study. Though it remains a contentious issue, the authors of the study are providing insights into an option still utilized by schools across the nation.

Comments

[Adam Coyer]

04:30 PM on 03/22/2011

The idea of retention has always been a hot-button issue because we have somehow connected retention to failure. What gets overlooked is that many who are considered for retention should have never been promoted in the first place because they did not meet the standards of the previous year. This snowball affect, which has been researched as a factor of the achievement gap, only makes the perception of retention worse.

I work as a high school math teacher, and one of the common weaknesses between my "high" students and my "low" students is knowing their multiplication facts. It's seems so trivial but being able to do simple one-digit operations mentally puts you ahead of the game. Should a kid be retained on this alone? Of course not. Yet we have high school aged students who have less than a 6th-grade reading level. That, by my own definition, is illiteracy and inexcusable. You cannot expect higher-order success if they don't have the tools to perform.

We need to somehow redefine the term retention into a program that says to a child they are not ready and unprepared for the expectations of future learning.

[KJLSanDiego]

01:08 PM on 03/21/2011

If we can nip this problem in the bud by retaining little kids, I'm all for it.
They shouldn't move on if they don't have the basics and fundamentals down.
Also, it is less socially awkward when everyone's too little to judge.
Lastly, this will teach kids early on that in life that nothing comes easy, and that they have to work for what they want and need.
It's never too early to teach the life lesson of hard work and rewards.

[Robert Schwartz]

12:20 PM on 03/21/2011

There are better ways to structure schools than grade levels accessed by age and when school was started. All kids learn differently and are ready to learn different things at different times. Trying to force a 5 year-old (usually) boy into reading or trying to get him to sit still for hours is ludicrous and developmentally detrimental. We have a crisis of boys in education where now 60% of higher ed students are girls. Forcing the development of boys at an early age is obviously not helping this.

[Angie Sullivan]

02:00 AM on 03/21/2011

As a teacher of 1st grade students, some kids are just not mature enough to "get it" yet. They aren't bad kids. They aren't dumb. They just might be a full year behind the kid next to them in class. If a student misses the cut off date by a day or so and stays home, he is a full year more mature than the student who made it by a day or so. You can have kids in the same classroom that are actually 2 years apart in age depending on their ages and birthdate. It's so hard to see kids in the upper grades struggle - and there is a question about why they weren't retained.

Some kids need that additional year. They are small, they are young, they can't hold a pencil because they don't have fine motor skills, and they just need a little more time. Some kids can't do school yet and cry incessantly - they aren't ready. Some kids miss a lot of school due to illness or a variety of reasons - even if they can learn easily, they are behind and need an additional year.

In my experience the stigma is actually generated by parents. Sometimes they are shocked when I approach them about retention. The parents reaction largely determines how successful the retention is going to be. To me, it's a gift. It costs the school district to retain, parents should take the opportunity if their child needs that additional time.

[MerryW]

07:13 PM on 03/20/2011

As a teacher of grade school kids and a mother I can say that if a student is having a rough time scholastically or emotionally in K or First grade, enthusiastically repeating the current year can be very helpful. It can be with the same or a different teacher.

[ninetailedfox]

02:42 PM on 03/20/2011

There is a school system called Montessori. I think that more public school systems should look into Montessori style schooling.

[Lynn Brown]

10:22 AM on 03/20/2011

bfre...I very much agree with your analysis. I happen to be a teaching artist, who enters classrooms for discrete units of study in partnership with teachers. These usually last 4-6 weeks, with me seeing a class maybe 6 times.

A great obstacle in my work is highlighted in my collaborations with Special Needs classrooms. I learn very quickly when I finally meet kids where they are socially, behaviorally, developmentally. But I know that I can more effective if I can ask the right questions of a contained classroom teacher, thereby supporting the best planning possible from the start.

Could you suggest resources that might assist me in developing a more systematic way of addressing capacities of different classrooms? My current approach is mostly to propose hypothetical activities that I might lead the class in (or I lead the teacher through it) and I then ask if they feel their kids would engage in it. If not, why not. How could I adapt it?

While this approach has the advantage of an actual proposed activity as the focus of discussion, I feel there are MANY aspects of the students lives that I can be more sensitive to, and sooner.

BTW, I am not allowed to view any IEPs, and feel unequipped to actually use them effectively.

Any thoughts? Thanks

[bfre]

08:19 AM on 03/20/2011

Sorry this is a continuation to my previous post.
I have spent hours researching online to find things that would help the children I work with, and many have been successful for the first time in their lives. I have been bullied by my administrator for stepping out of the box and using programs that I have found to help kids, but nowadays "data driven research based" are the code words for scripted lessons or computer programs. The human factor and the intelligence to realize what skill a child is missing is the key to helping anyone succeed.

[sdmcmla]

01:34 AM on 03/21/2011

Hey, what are you doing to teach reading to slow learners?  Can you share some specifics so others can use them?  It would be appreciated.

[bfre]

11:35 PM on 04/09/2011

I use a set of sight word cards that I have designed based on the six syllable types that I have designed myself.I have succeeded with children that others cannot teach. When reading makes sense, you can be successful.

[bfre]

08:17 AM on 03/20/2011

If you notice in the article, only 18% reached proficiency in reading. How successful can you be in this world without being able to read? I am a teacher's assistant and I work with the lowest achieving children. If they cannot read, retaining them and doing the same things over again will do nothing but create a child who will use behavior to cover the fact that he cannot read.
I am working with a young man in 3rd grade who has been passed along and sits in a VE class because he could not read. I have gone back to the basics and filled in the skills he was missing and he is now reading. I invited his teacher from last year to come and listen to him and she was amazed.
He has been let down by the school system, and his home environment.
If we do not teach these children what will we do with them when they eventually drop out of school? I would rather invest my time and money teaching them than jailing them. Retention is not the answer. Teaching them is.
if you are a teacher, no where in your college classes are you taught how to teach a child to read. You are taught classroom management, and told of the battle between whole word and phonics, but you are basically handed a teacher's edition of whatever reading series your county has selected and this is how you teach them to read.

[LisaCACO]

01:11 PM on 03/20/2011

this is the sad part of what's happened to education. As an anthropologist, I wanted to know how a child learns and I wanted to know what information teachers had at their disposal and the techniques used to teach reading nowadays. I was horrified to read some of the early readers out there for children. there's no story, no plot, enough to drive a child to boredom with reading. the idea that a child might be introduced to reading in school this way was just abhorrent to me. fortunately, we found a expeditionary learning environment where the teachers are in control of the classroom. they actually learn to read by reading books with plots and everything!

I agree, spending time on learning to read and write, the basics, in the early grades, will pay off in the long run in satisfied students who love to learn and feel good about themselves and feel good about being in school. making them repeat a grade is just shameful. they haven't failed, we have failed them. We need to give teachers freedom to explore various teaching techniques, the opportunity to choose the books and methods they think works best for their class and also time to learn from each other. we need to cut class size so teachers can spend time with kids one on one . we need to stop worrying about "testing" and just let these children catch up. if we invest the time, most will.

[Jo-Anne Gross]

01:24 PM on 03/20/2011

Right on-Fanned!

[Tom Iarossi]

01:36 AM on 03/20/2011

Retention has failed as a tool, with a student retained once being 40-60% more likely to drop out, and a twice retained student up to 90% more likely to leave without graduating. The dynaics are complex,and so I fear are the answers. But answer we must.

[becut]

01:28 AM on 03/20/2011

As a School Psychologist for 10 years, I have been labeling students and placing them in Sp Ed. NASP (National Assoc. for Sch Psychologist) may be more interested in providing work for the profession rather than the needs of the children. The cost of hiring School Psy's and Social Workers all earning 6 figure salaries may be the reason they choose to not support retention. Follow the $$$$. The emotional, social, academic, and drop out rate related to labeling students as learning disabled is also a huge problem.

[Jill Davidson]

06:24 PM on 03/20/2011

Where do you work as a school psychologist for six figures? I'd like to relocate there. I make a good salary by school psychology standards - it's in the 5 figures, but the Northwest is relatively expensive.

[DeuxExMachina]

12:21 AM on 03/20/2011

Simple. I understand, not everyone is going to be a doctor, a lawyer, investment banker, computer programmer, a writer, etc. You don't graduate from high school, then go to a trade school. Still not good for a trade, join the army. Not good enough then there are jobs cleaning, road sweeping, etc. The last jobs are currently being done by willing immigrants with no English.

[eceresa]

07:07 PM on 03/19/2011

I've known people who seemed to be helped by retention, but on the other hand I know that the research argues against it.

One thing I'd like to see researched: what is the effect on students who are in the same class as a child who has been socially promoted despite not achieving at grade level?

It appears that retention isn't the answer to help underperforming kids, but passing them along often doesn't help them either, and I strongly suspect that when a number of below-grade-level students exist in a class, having been socially promoted to a grade they're not equipped to handle, the education of the other kids around them suffers. I suspect an alternative system is the only thing that would really work for these kids.

[nuff swaid]

05:39 PM on 03/19/2011

Reformers use retention not to help students but to encourage them to drop out. You see it's easy to improve High School Graduation rates . All you have to do is hold back those you perceive as least likely to succeed a couple of times. Then they will turn 16 BEFORE entering 9th grade and can drop out or be encouraged to go the GED route.That has been NYC's hidden agenda under Klein-Bloomberg and it worked. And it is totally opaque because there is NO statistic for 8th grade dropouts--convenient isn't it.