So If Retention Is So Harmful, What Should We Do? Teach!
Heading Toward a Long-term, Systemic Solution
A Boston Globe editorial stated that for “40 years, study after study on grade retention has reached the same conclusion: Failing a student, particularly in the critical ninth grade year, is the single largest predictor of whether he or she drops out” (Edley, 2002). The editorial goes on to state that “widespread retention further exacerbates the achievement gap: In Massachusetts, for example, across all grades, African-American and Hispanics are retained at over three times the rate of whites” (Edley, 2002).
According to research (Anderson, Jimerson and Whipple, 2002; NASP, 2003; Jimerson, Anderson and Whipple, 2002; Stenovich, 1994), some of the devastating effects of retention are:
– Most children do not “catch up” when held back.
– Although some retained students do better at first, these children often fall behind again in later grades.
– Retention is one of the most powerful predictors of high school dropout; holding a child back twice makes dropping out of school 90%...
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