In England, some children have not reached what are considered to be expected levels in literacy and maths by the time they move from primary to secondary school. This is more likely for children living in disadvantaged areas. One proposal to address this is the provision of summer holiday schools for potentially disadvantaged pupils who are…

Included in this review of the literature on grade retention are annotations for 13 articles supporting nonpromotion policies, 13 articles refuting nonpromotion policies, and 5 articles arguing that both policies result in undesirable consequences. Articles are identified as being: (1) original research comparing students retained with students…

Two alternatives to retention in grade for secondary school students were evaluated in Austin (Texas). Both were designed to allow students who are potential retainees (PRs) to receive remediation in one semester. The Transitional Academic Program (TAP) allows PRs to enroll in ninth-grade courses while repeating eighth-grade courses they had…

As mandated by state law, the Texas Education Agency presents a summary of data relating to grade-level retention of students reported by grade, ethnicity, and gender. The reported total number of students who repeated a grade in Texas schools in 1992-93 was 118,888. An additional 3,243 students, or 1.24% of the first grade, were placed in…

The Austin (Texas) Independent School District's (AISD) programs that were developed as alternatives to retention in grade for low-achieving students were studied. The AISD had 19 elementary transition classes (all-day classes, language arts, and language arts/mathematics) in 17 schools for 282 first and second graders in 1987-88. The Transitional…