This research explores the effect of orientation advice (OA), which is an instrument aimed at supporting pupils during their first transition from middle to high school. We investigate whether being 'ambitious' (i.e. rejecting OA and choosing a more challenging track) influences grade 9 retention probability. Data from 28 schools from Piacenza…

Critical approaches to policy suggest that policy, even in the most apparently democratic polity or institution, codifies and extends the interests of those who disproportionately wield power (Levinson et al., 2009). While many people are involved in conversations and decision-making processes related to the implementation of grade retention or…

The purpose of the current outcome study was to determine the effects of the Ready for Success (RFS) classroom guidance program (Brigman & Webb, 2012) on the social-emotional skills and competence, reading proficiency, and promotion between third-grade students who received the RFS intervention (treatment group; n = 104), and third-grade…

Decisions about progress through an academic programme are made by Boards of Examiners, on the basis of students' course assessments. For most students such pass/fail grading decisions are straightforward. However, for those students whose results are borderline (either at a pass/fail boundary or boundaries between grades) the exercise of some…

Educators and policy makers confront challenging questions of ethics, justice, and equity on a regular basis. Should teachers retain a struggling student if it means she will most certainly drop out? Should an assignment plan favor middle-class families if it means strengthening the school system for all? These everyday dilemmas are both utterly…

My dissertation utilizes an explanatory, sequential mixed-methods research design to assess factors influencing community college students' transfer probability to baccalaureate-granting institutions and to present promising practices in colleges and states directed at improving upward transfer, particularly for low-income and first-generation…

In general, retention at any grade level has not improved student achievement or social adjustment. Skimpy data on transition rooms seem to indicate that they are not very successful either. The reasons that have been given to explain why retention has not worked range from the school's inability to diagnose student needs to rigid curriculum and…

Factors to be considered in deciding about nonpromotion of students include child factors (such as physical disabilities, physical size, self-concept, and ability to function independently); family factors (such as attitude toward retention and number of geographical moves); and school factors (school's, principal's, and teacher's attitude toward…

Although research indicates that retention has little educational value for children, the retention process and rate continue to escalate. Retention consequences are devastating and pervasive. The paper discusses decisions regarding retention and notes positive alternatives (e.g., parental involvement, modifications in instructional practices and…

Reviews research on the effects of grade retention and discusses two models for making decisions about promotion. Concludes that neither grade retention nor social promotion necessarily solves the academic difficulties of low-achieving students. Discusses possibilities for altering existing curriculum, teaching, and learning. (CB)

This policy study looks at existing and emerging state policies on social promotion to determine the extent to which students with disabilities are included or excluded. Results reflect the status of state polices at one point in time, as determined from publicly available state documents and statutes of 14 states with promotion policies. The…

The purpose of this paper is to present different aspects of the effects of grade retention on students and to consider what is best for the total development of the child. Studies show that grade retention does not ensure significant gains in achievement. However, studies seem to be less conclusive regarding retention due to the immaturity of…

A nationwide survey of preschool programs (N=178) serving handicapped children revealed that approximately half had formal written exit criteria, the most common of which was chronological age. Other factors included formal test results, team staffing decisions, and the child's developmental skill level. Formal written exit criteria differed…

Today's administrators must exercise caution in using student retention as a means of responding to changing social values and to the current media attention on declining standardized test scores. Recent reviews of hundreds of studies of student retention have concluded that some low achieving students do benefit from retention, but the majority…

To examine the premise that an overall cutting score on Basic Medical Sciences (BMS) tests allows medical students to enter clinical training despite deficiencies in certain subjects, cutting scores on four BMS tests were compared with those of discipline subtests. The original premise was not supported. (MH)