In recent decades, state policymakers across the country have turned to early literacy policies to address students' reading proficiency--particularly in third grade. Though states' policies vary widely in terms of the interventions and supports provided to educators and students, their intent is similar: to get students reading on grade level by…

The paper argues that in many developing countries there is a set of linked symptoms in education systems that cohere into what we call a weak foundations syndrome. Multi-source evidence is presented to illustrate how weak foundations through the early years of schooling lead to low primary school completion. Symptoms of the syndrome include (1)…

This brief is one in a series aimed at providing K-12 education decision makers and advocates with an evidence base to ground discussions about how to best serve students during and following the novel coronavirus pandemic. Learning losses are likely to show up differently across grades and subjects, with intensive recovery needs concentrated in…

The purpose of this study was to determine if teachers and administrators hold differing beliefs about grade retention. School districts in Northeast Tennessee participated in this study. Participants in eight school districts took an online survey designed to collect data on beliefs about grade retention. The survey consisted of two sections.…

This article is the fourth in a series arguing that there is serious mismeasurement of enrolment in early childhood development (ECD) and in the early grades of education systems in many countries, especially, and most damagingly, in those making the most progress on access to schooling and in the sustainable development goals. Other reports have…

Prior research substantially overstates the cost of retention under test-based promotion policies to both taxpayers and students who delay labor market entry because it omits two important factors. First, there is a delay between the intervention and the taxpayer's expenditure. Second, on average, the treatment leads to less than a full year of…

The purpose of the current study was to determine students' early reading profiles at the beginning and end of kindergarten using existing school-based measures with a sample of Spanish speaking, Latinx students. Using latent profile analysis, a multivariate analytic technique that empirically identifies profiles based on student responses to…

Student retention, the practice of having a student repeat a grade level of schooling due to low academic performance or delayed behavioral and social development, is a common yet controversial educational practice in the United States. Extensive literature exists on the effects of retention on students' academic outcomes, socialization, and…

This study was designed to examine the effects of grade level retention on students' reading achievement, based on the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR). Three research questions guided the study. Did students who were retained in kindergarten, first, or second grade reach academic success on 5th grade reading STAAR? Did…

Background: Early school leaving (ESL) is a significant and complex problem for most educational systems. Research has analysed this problem from a number of different perspectives but has been mainly focused on a specific set of variables that may influence ESL. Purpose: This study sought to identify the variables that influence ESL in compulsory…

Public policies often target individuals but within-family externalities of such interventions are understudied. Using a regression discontinuity design, we document how a third grade retention policy affects both the target children and their younger siblings. The policy improves test scores of both children while the spillover is up to 30% of…

We provide evidence from a randomized controlled trial on the effectiveness of a novel, 100-percent online math tutoring program, targeted at secondary school students from highly disadvantaged neighborhoods. The intensive, eight-week-long program was delivered by qualified math teachers in groups of two students during after-school hours. The…

Children of undocumented immigrants exist in permanent limbo. They are fearful every day that their parents will be deported and wondering if they have any future in the country. Many of these students identify as Latinx. Instead of focusing on their education, these students struggle with this uncertainty and as a result are often absent from…

Childhood education affects how individuals adapt to the challenges of adulthood. Although various generalizations are made relating childhood educational experiences to characteristics of adults, there is scant evidence to support those assertions for adult literacy learners in the United States. This study investigates the relationship of…

Bullying has been recognized as a worldwide problem. Despite the growing popularity of bullying research, relatively few studies have investigated school bullying in Northern Cyprus. This study has two aims. The first aim is to observe the frequency of bullying among North Cyprus adolescents. The second aim is to test the relationship between…