Overview:

• Holding students back a grade often leads to negative consequences, such as lower academic achievement, increased dropout rates, and emotional distress.
• With 26 states adopting retention policies, experts urge parents to explore options to opt out.
• Instead of retention, teachers should focus on personalized lessons and effective student assessments to address reading challenges and support individual growth, thereby reducing the harmful effects associated with grade repetition.

By Laura Link, University of North Dakota and Diana D’Amico Pawlewicz, University of North Dakota

Children struggle with shame and alienation when they are forced to repeat a grade in school.

For decades, schools have allowed children to advance to the next grade . But more and more states are adopting policies to hold students back if they fail standardized tests in reading.

As of now, , compared with just five years ago. This month, Maryland lawmakers will consider their own who struggle with reading, while allowing parents to opt out as long as they agree to get their child extra reading support.

The looming decision in Maryland, where , has reignited a about the consequences of “flunking” students. Based on what the research shows, we believe parents and guardians would be wise to explore their options to opt out of the retention policy. We say this because of what we know to be the negative effects associated with forcing a child to repeat a grade.

While giving struggling learners another year to master essential skills may seemingly make sense, evidence suggests that holding kids back often . Not only do these students have a , but the practice also .

As researchers who study and , we offer five reasons why we don’t see holding students back as an effective educational strategy.

1. Hinders academic progress

Students held back in the early elementary grades show compared with their promoted peers both during and after the retention year, according to a multiyear study published in 2018. This lag in students’ performance persists through their middle school years.

Even more concerning, any short-term academic gains from retention often , another comprehensive study found. This is partly because students encounter the same teaching and grading methods that didn’t work for them the first time around.

2. Limits social and emotional development

Students held back in elementary school experience , research shows. These feelings linger into adolescence. These students also grapple with compared with their promoted peers, which could limit their overall social and emotional development.

3. Increases dropout risk

Students held back in elementary grades by age 20 compared with their similarly achieving peers who were not held back, one study found. A 2018 study , even after controlling for prior achievement and socioeconomic status.

4. Costs more for school districts

The estimated cost of retention is a year, depending on the school district. The total cost to U.S. taxpayers is over . The costs continue to add up over a lifetime, too, since holding students back is .

5. Disadvantages poor and minority students

As do other policies in education, holding students back affects poor and minority students than their higher-income and white peers, research has found.

Retention policies are also often associated with .

Decisions about whether a student should be held back often rely on measures such as standardized test scores. But research shows there’s a , which tend to .

Reliance on high-stakes tests and creates a system that simultaneously hamstrings teachers and .

Another path forward

A man reads with a boy in a library.
Struggling students may benefit from personalized lessons.

It’s not fair to penalize students when educators and policymakers have the power to address student reading issues before and throughout third grade. Instead, we believe less weight should be placed on high stakes tests, and teachers should be trusted and to help students who are behind in reading.

Here are a few ways that teachers can better support students in reading:

  1. Identify learning gaps regularly: Kindergarten through third grade teachers should regularly evaluate their students’ academic performance and adjust their teaching methods based on what they conclude. Recent research demonstrates that this approach can lead to .
  2. Use standards to guide learning: By focusing on students’ individual growth – rather than comparing them with their peers – teachers and parents can . When students need help, teachers can provide more targeted interventions.
  3. Separate behavior and academic performance: Teachers should separate students’ behavior, including effort and participation, from their academic performance in the grade book. This gives a and areas where they can improve.
  4. Enhance teacher training: The above recommendations work only if teachers understand how to interpret and regularly use their students’ classroom assessment data. This is what allows them to personalize lessons for struggling students. Many teacher preparation programs in the U.S. in this area. Some innovative universities, however, are effective classroom assessment and grading practices that are fair, accurate and meaningful for all students.

These classroom-based, teacher-driven practices can not only benefit individual students, but they can also reduce the financial and emotional costs associated with grade retention.

The path forward lies not in holding students back but in pushing these educational practices forward. Education leaders can ensure that every student receives proactive support – instead of experiencing the shame and setbacks associated with having to repeat a year in school.

This article is republished from , a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: , and ,

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Dr. D’Amico Pawlewicz’s research has been supported by the Spencer Foundation.

Laura Link does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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