Grade Retention Articles

Today, as classrooms are being packed up for the summer, we often hear the lament of parents and educators. And from students, the dreaded words: "I failed", or "they're holding me back." But equally discomforting is the teacher's cry, "What can I do differently to help my students succeed?"
Grade Retention
Every year it seems retention continues to be an end- of-year topic in spite of mounds of research that show retention to be a largely ineffective strategy. Some of the more common findings show:     * 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% certain.
GRADE RETENTION: ACHIEVEMENT AND MENTAL HEALTH OUTCOMES National Association for School Psychologists By Gabrielle E. Anderson, Angela D. Whipple, & Shane R. Jimerson
POSITION STATEMENT ON STUDENT GRADE RETENTION AND SOCIAL PROMOTION National Association of School Psychologists
SO IF RETENTION IS SO HARMFUL, WHAT SHOULD WE DO? TEACH! Heading Toward a Long-term, Systemic Solution By Alice Thomas, M.Ed.