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What Did the Researcher Do? SOURCE

McMurrer, Jennifer R., Revisiting Retention: Issues

and Alternatives. The Informed Educator Series,
Educational Research Service, Arlington, Virginia, 2006.
(As summarized in Effective Schools Research
Abstracts Volume 21, Issue 2)

The accountability and standards movement has had a profound impact on student retention. The use of student
retention has been accentuated by state- or district-level policies that require schools to retain students who do
not pass mandated assessments. These issues have rekindled researchers' interest in retention as well.

"Research on retention in grade has focused on three major, often interrelated areas: equity, student academic
performance after they have been retained, and the relationship between retention and other variables such as
dropout rates." (pp. 1-2) This informative article published by the Education Research Service summarizes the
relevant issues and research currently available on student retention.

What Did the Researcher Find?

Equity: Nearly 2.5 million students are retained in grade each year. The highest retention rates are found among
boys-especially minorities, special education students, and those from poor families. "By ages 15 to 17, retention
rates for black and Hispanic students are 40-50 percent, compared with 35 percent for white students." (p. 2)
While minority and poor students are not targeted for retention, "any long-term effects of retention are
exacerbated by the existence of these differences." (p. 2)

Retention and Academic Performance: Much of this article reports on the research of S. R. Jimerson. In a 2001
study, Jimerson reviewed the research studies focusing on retention that were conducted between 1900 and
1989. He concluded from his review of past research and meta-analyses that "the cumulative evidence does not
support the use of grade retention as a positive academic intervention." (p. 2)

In examining more recent studies of student retention, Jimerson concluded that these findings were consistent
with the converging evidence and conclusions from research conducted earlier in the century. The studies failed
to show any benefits for the strategy of student retention over promotion to the next grade.

Conventional wisdom has often suggested that grade retention in the earlier grades may be less damaging and
more beneficial for students. However, recent studies found "that children who were retained would have learned
more had they been promoted. This was true in both reading and math." (p. 3)

Retention and Non-Achievement Variables: Student retention is one of the best predictors of dropping out. This
was borne out by a study conducted in the Chicago Public Schools after they instituted the requirement that
students pass an end-of-grade exam before being promoted to ninth grade. They found that
"retention...increased the likelihood of dropping out by age 17 by about 8 percentage points." (p. 4)

One of the meta-analyses examined the social-emotional adjustment variables and found no significant
difference between the retained and promoted students on the majority of comparisons. Where significant
differences were found, the data favored the promoted students.

What Are Possible Implications for School Improvement?

Teachers and administrators seem to be "caught between a rock and a hard place." On one hand, students who
have not mastered the intended standards are at-risk if they are promoted. On the other hand, repeating the
grade seems to have more negatives than positives. The researchers have suggested several strategies that
might prevent the need to consider retaining so many students in the first place.

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Effective Schools Research LiNK http://esrlink.com/index.asp?id=1683&p=1

Assure that there is alignment between the instruction and the standards. Teachers who reported that their
schools had identified essential standards and that their classroom instruction was guided by state academic
standards were also more likely to be in high-performing schools.

Similarly, Kirst, Haertel, et. al., (2005) found that California schools that implemented a "coherent,
standards-based instructional program" did better than predicted in educating low-income students. (p. 6)

Conduct systematic and periodic assessments to identify student problems. Systematic procedures to identify
needs at the beginning of each academic year, and at regular intervals throughout the academic year, provide
the foundation for effective intervention. Some schools create "intervention teams" to study data about individual
students and then develop a learning plan for individual students-not unlike an Individualized Education Plan.

Adjust the strategies used to form student groupings. In early grades, some schools are using multiage
classrooms. In these classes, students of different ages and achievement levels are grouped together. In
addition, some schools have found creative ways to provide more focused instruction for students who are
behind academically.

Actually accelerate the pace of learning. An example of such a strategy is found in schools that provide a
structured system of extra help so that students who lack adequate readiness can "catch up."

Offer and support staff development to increase teacher effectiveness. Schools are increasingly finding that
reliance on a broad-brush, whole-class approach to instruction fails to meet the needs of many students. Many
teachers need professional development when it comes to differentiating instruction.

Extend the time available of learning. One popular approach to extending time available has been the extended
day program. Researchers have studied such programs and have identified the following characteristics of the
most successful efforts:

• There should be a careful assessment of individual student needs, with instruction designed to address the
needs.

• After-school and regular-day teachers should communicate about the progress and problems of individual
students.

• Staff of the after-school program must have a range of instructional strategies that support their work with
students who are having difficulties.

Provide prekindergarten programs. There are clear indications that opportunities for student success in school
can be improved by participation in preschool experiences that enhance readiness for kindergarten.

Effective schools research and best practices recognize that the best strategies for helping all
students-especially poor students-to academically succeed should focus on preventing failure. Frequent
monitoring, a clear and focused mission, and increased opportunity to learn provide the underpinnings for the
strategies suggested by these researchers.

The review of the research on student retention affirms the notion that the best strategies for helping all students
succeed requires "just-in-time" intervention as soon as students first encounter difficulty. The longer students
linger in frustration and failure, the less likely it is that the school can reclaim them to academic success.

- Lawrence W. Lezotte

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