NASP Home > About NASP > NASP Position Papers > Position Statement on Grade Retention
Position Statement on Student Grade Retention and Social
Promotion
The increasing emphasis on educational standards and accountability
has rekindled public and professional debate regarding the use of grade retention
as an intervention to remedy academic deficits. While some politicians, professionals,
and organizations have called for an end to "social promotion," many states
and districts have established promotion standards.
Despite
a century of research that fails to support the efficacy of grade retention,
the use of grade retention has increased over the past 25 years. It is estimated
that as many as 15% of American students are held back each year, and 30%
- 50% of students in the US are retained at least once before ninth grade.
Furthermore,
the highest retention rates are found among poor, minority, inner-city youth.
Research indicates
that neither grade retention nor social promotion is an effective strategy
for improving educational success. Evidence from research and practice highlights
the importance of seeking alternatives that will promote social and cognitive
competence of children and enhance educational outcomes.
The
National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) promotes the use of interventions
that are evidence-based and effective and discourages the use of practices
which, though popular or widely accepted, are either not beneficial or are
harmful to the welfare and educational attainment of America's children and youth. Given the frequent
use of the ineffective practice of grade retention, NASP urges schools and
parents to seek alternatives to retention that more effectively address the
specific instructional needs of academic underachievers.
Research Findings
Findings
from extensive research during the last century on the efficacy of grade retention
warrant serious consideration. The following summarizes the preponderance
of the evidence.
Student characteristics:
Some groups of children are more likely to be retained than others. Those
at highest risk for retention are male; African American or Hispanic;
have a late birthday, delayed development and/or attention problems; live
in poverty or in a single-parent household; have parents with low educational
attainment; have parents that are less involved in their education; or
have changed schools frequently. Students who have behavior problems
and display aggression or immaturity are more likely to be retained. Students
with reading problems, including English Language Learners, are also more
likely to be retained.
Impact at the elementary school level:
.
While delayed entry and readiness classes may not hurt children in the short
run, there is no evidence of a positive effect on either long-term school
achievement or adjustment. Furthermore, by adolescence, these early retention
practices are predictive of numerous health and emotional risk factors, and
associated deleterious outcomes.
.
Initial achievement gains may occur during the year the student is retained.
However, the consistent trend across many research studies is that achievement
gains decline within 2-3 years of retention, such that retained children either
do no better or perform more poorly than similar groups of promoted children.
This is true whether children are compared to same-grade
peers or comparable students who were promoted.
.
The most notable academic deficit for retained students is in reading.
.
Children with the greatest number of academic, emotional, and behavioral problems
are most likely to experience negative consequences of retention. Subsequent
academic and behavioral problems may result in the child being retained again.
.
Retention does not appear to have a positive impact on self-esteem or overall
school adjustment; however, retention is associated with significant increases
in behavior problems as measured by behavior rating scales completed by teachers
and parents, with problems becoming more pronounced as the child reaches adolescence.
.
Research examining the overall effects of 19 empirical studies conducted during
the 1990s compared outcomes for students who were retained and matched comparison
students who were promoted. Results indicate that grade retention had a negative
impact on all areas of achievement (reading, math and language) and socio-emotional
adjustment (peer relationships, self esteem, problem behaviors, and attendance).
Impact at the secondary school level:
.
Students who were retained or had delayed kindergarten entry are more likely
to drop out of school
compared to students who were never retained, even when controlling for achievement levels.
The probability of dropping out increases with multiple retentions. Even for
single retentions, the
most consistent finding from decades of research is the high correlation between
retention and dropping out. A recent systematic review of research exploring
dropping out of high school indicates that grade retention is one of the most
powerful predictors of high school dropout.
. Retained students have increased risks of health-compromising behaviors
such as emotional distress, cigarette use, alcohol use, drug abuse, driving
while drinking, use of alcohol during sexual activity, early onset of
sexual activity, suicidal intentions, and violent behaviors.
Impact
in late adolescence and early adulthood:
.
Prospective, longitudinal research provides evidence that retained students have a greater probability
of poorer educational and employment outcomes during late adolescence and
early adulthood. Specifically, in addition to lower levels of academic adjustment
in eleventh grade and a greater likelihood of dropping out of high school
by age 19, retained students are also less likely to receive a diploma by
age 20. Retained students are also less likely to be enrolled in a post-secondary
education program and more likely to receive lower education/employment status
ratings, be paid less per hour, and receive poorer employment competence ratings
at age 20 in comparison to a group of low-achieving, promoted students. In
addition, it should be noted that the low-achieving but promoted group of
students are comparable to a general population of peers on all employment
outcomes at age 20.
. Grade repeaters as adults are more likely to be unemployed, living on public
assistance or in prison than adults who did not repeat a grade.
There are multiple explanations for the negative effects associated with grade
retention, including: 1) the absence of specific remedial strategies to enhance
social or cognitive competence; 2) failure to address the risk factors associated
with retention; and 3) the consequences of being over-age for grade, which is
associated with an assortment of deleterious outcomes, particularly as retained
children approach middle school and puberty (stigmatizing by peers and other
negative experiences of grade retention may exacerbate behavioral and socio-emotional
adjustment problems). Evidence of the psychosocial effects of grade retention
is apparent in studies examining children's perceptions of twenty stressful
life events. Initial research two decades ago indicated that, by the time students
were in 6th grade, they feared retention most after the loss of a
parent and going blind. In 2001, 6th grade students rated grade
retention as the most stressful life event, followed by the loss of a
parent and going blind.
Individual Considerations
The research on retention at all age levels and across studies is based on
group data. While there may be individual students who benefit from retention,
no study has been able to predict accurately which children will gain from being
retained. Under some circumstances, retention is less likely to yield negative
effects:
.
Broadly, research indicates that students who have relatively positive self-concepts;
good peer relationships; social, emotional, and behavioral strengths; and
those who have fewer achievement problems are less likely to have negative
retention experiences.
. Students who have difficulty in school because of lack of opportunity for
instruction rather than lack of ability may be helped by retention. However,
this assumes that the lack of opportunity is related to attendance/health or
mobility problems that have been resolved and that the student is no more than
one year older than classmates.
. Retention is more likely to have benign or positive impact when students
are not simply held back, but receive specific remediation to address skill
or behavioral deficits and promote achievement and social skills. However, such
remediation is also likely to benefit students who are socially promoted.
Alternatives to Retention and Social Promotion
Both
grade retention and social promotion fail to improve learning or facilitate
positive achievement and adjustment outcomes. Neither repeating a grade nor
merely moving on to the next grade provides students with the supports they
need to improve academic and social skills. Holding schools accountable for
student progress requires effective intervention strategies that provide educational
opportunities and assistance to promote the social and cognitive development
of students. Recognizing the cumulative developmental effects on student success
at school, both early interventions and follow-up strategies are emphasized.
Furthermore, in acknowledging the reciprocal influence of social and cognitive
skills on academic success, effective interventions must be implemented to
promote both social and cognitive competence of students. NASP encourages
school districts to consider a wide array of well-researched, evidence-based,
effective, and responsible strategies in lieu of retention or social promotion
(see Algozzine, Ysseldyke, and Elliott, 2002 for a discussion
of research-based tactics for effective instruction; see Shinn, Walker, and
Stoner, 2002 for a more extensive discussion of interventions for academic
and behavior problems).
Specifically,
NASP recommends that educational professionals:
.
encourage parents' involvement in their children's schools and education
through frequent contact with teachers, supervision of homework, etc.
. adopt age-appropriate and culturally sensitive instructional strategies that
accelerate progress in all classrooms
. emphasize the importance of early developmental programs
and preschool programs to enhance language and social skills
.
incorporate systematic assessment strategies, including continuous progress
monitoring and formative evaluation, to enable ongoing modification of instructional
efforts
.
provide effective early reading programs
. implement effective school-based mental health programs
. use student support teams to assess and identify specific learning or behavior
problems, design interventions to address those problems, and evaluate the efficacy
of those interventions
. use effective behavior management and cognitive behavior
modification strategies to reduce classroom behavior problems
.
provide appropriate education services for children with educational disabilities,
including collaboration between regular, remedial, and special education professionals
.
offer extended year, extended day , and summer school programs that focus
on facilitating the development of academic skills
.
implement tutoring and mentoring programs with peer, cross-age, or adult tutors
.
incorporate comprehensive school-wide programs to promote the psychosocial
and academic skills of all students
. establish full-service schools to provide a community-based vehicle for the
organization and delivery of educational, social and health services to meet
the diverse needs of at-risk students.
For
children experiencing academic, emotional, or behavioral difficulties, neither
grade retention nor social promotion is an effective remedy. If educational
professionals are committed to helping all children achieve academic success
and reach their full potential, we must discard ineffective practices, such
as grade retention and social promotion, in favor of "promotion plus" specific
interventions designed to address the factors that place students at risk
for school failure. NASP encourages school psychologists to actively collaborate
with other professionals and parents in their school districts to address
the findings of educational research, and develop and implement effective
alternatives to retention and social promotion. Incorporating evidence-based interventions
and instructional strategies into school policies and practices will enhance
academic and social outcomes for all students.
References
Algozzine, B., Ysseldyke, J. E., & Elliot, J. (2002).
Strategies and tactics for effective instruction. Longmont, CO: Sopris
West.
Anderson, G. E., Jimerson, S. R., & Whipple, A.D. (2002).
Student's ratings of stressful experiences at home and school: Loss of a parent
and grade retention as superlative stressors. Manuscript prepared for publication,
available from authors at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Anderson, G., Whipple, A., & Jimerson, S. (2002, November).
Grade Retention: Achievement and mental health outcomes. Communiqué, 31 (3), handout pages 1-3.
Dawson, P. (1998, June). A primer on student grade retention: What the research
says. Communiqué, 26 (8), 28-30.
Ferguson, P., Jimerson, S. R., & Dalton, M. (2001). Sorting
out successful failures: Exploratory analyses of factors associated with academic
and behavioral outcomes of retained students. Psychology in the Schools,
38 (4), 327-342.
Jimerson, S. R. (1999). On the failure of failure: Examining
the association of early grade retention and late adolescent education and
employment outcomes. Journal of School Psychology, 37 (3), 243-272.
Jimerson, S. R. (2001a). Meta-analysis
of grade retention research: Implications for practice in the 21st century.
School Psychology Review, 30 (3), 420-437.
Jimerson, S. R. (2001b). A
synthesis of grade retention research: Looking backward and moving forward.
The California School Psychologist, 6, 47-59.
Jimerson, S. R., Anderson, G., & Whipple, A. (2002). Winning the battle
and losing the war: Examining the relation between grade retention and dropping
out of high school. Psychology in the Schools, 39 (4), 441-457
Jimerson, S. R., Carlson, E., Rotert, M., Egeland, B., &
Sroufe, E. (1997). A prospective longitudinal study of the correlates and
consequences of early grade retention. Journal of School Psychology, 35
(1), 3-25.
Jimerson, S. R., Egeland, B., Sroufe, L. A., & Carlson, E.
(2000). A prospective longitudinal study of high school dropouts: Examining
multiple predictors across development. Journal of School Psychology,
38
(6), 525-549.
Jimerson, S. R., & Kaufman, A. M. (2003). Reading, writing,
and retention: A primer on grade retention research. The Reading Teacher,
56 (8).
Shinn, M. R., Walker, H. M., & Stoner, G. (Eds.) (2002).
Interventions for academic and behavior problems II: Preventive and remedial
approaches. Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists.
Revision adopted by the
NASP Delegate Assembly on April 12, 2003.
© 2003 National Association of School Psychologists, 4340 East
West Highway, Suite 402, Bethesda MD 20814 - 301-657-0270.