Students of the Austin (Texas) Independent School procedures, and results District who had been in first through sixth grade during 1982-83 and were recommended for retention at the end of the year were eligible to attend the 1983 summer school for retainees. The program was designed to provide additional basic skills instruction so that retainees…

A school's promotion policy is an integral component of its overall educational policy. In conjunction with achievement goals, it defines the levels of performance that permit students to move through grade levels and to graduate. This digest reviews the various promotion policies and practices in current use by secondary schools, particularly…

Decisions about whether to promote a student should be made on a variety of both academic and social grounds, and the curriculum should be restructured to meet the student's needs if retention is chosen. As with other academic/punitive measures, poor Blacks and Hispanics tend to be retained disproportionate to their numbers because minorities are…

Attendance rates and selected academic and school climate indicators in 39 secondary schools in Cleveland, Ohio, were studied by ranking and grouping the schools into the top third, the middle third, and the lowest third, based on attendance rates. Compared to the group of schools with highest attendance rates, the schools composing the lowest…

Educational planners are concerned with the inflow of pupils in order to plan for adequate facilities and sufficient teachers. Statistics on repeaters, however, enable the determination of the flow of pupils through and from the educational system. Since repeaters cost educational systems double in the form of expenses for teachers and equipment,…

This report identifies and analyzes forces in the schooling process that create delays in completions, that limit attainment, that foster the drop out rate and that reduce chances for higher education among Puerto Ricns in metropolitan areas in the U.S., as revealed by statistics from the 1970 census. In this study, an explanatory set of social…

The children followed at the University of Oregon Medical school site of the Collaborative Study on Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Other Neurological and Sensory Disorders of Infancy and Childhood comprised the research population. This study included 910 children--all of those completing the seven-year examination. About 65 percent were…

Noting that the persistence of unacceptable trends in kindergarten entry and placement practices narrows the curriculum in kindergarten and primary education, constricts equal educational opportunity, and curtails the exercise of professional responsibilities of early childhood educators, this position statement of the National Association of…

The impact of retention in kindergarten on academic achievement and behavior was studied for 53 retained children and 53 matched promoted peers. The academic advantages indicated in the second year of kindergarten were not maintained past kindergarten. Results do not support retention as an effective policy for young children. (SLD)

After four years of schooling, at-risk children who had participated in a developmental kindergarten program scored higher on academic, social competency, and self-perception measures than children who had not participated in the program. Gender and racial differences were found. (BC)

Examines pre-first-grade programs in three New England school districts to determine why so many children cannot meet regular classroom demands. Extrayear programs are a quick fix allowing schools and communities to retain policies that permit children to be labeled, tracked, and retained. There is no substitute for a well-designed,…

This follow-up study examined effects (in grades two through five) of a two-year parent-child education program for low-income Mexican-American families of children ages one through three. There were no program effects on school grades, retention, or referrals, but program children achieved significantly higher on tests of reading, language, and…

A recent project collected and analyzed student success indicators generated by six high schools from a large, midwestern school corporation. Schools with clear student goals and enhanced professional-development opportunities made more successful transitions to block schedules. High achievers remained successful; low-achievers struggled under…

Led by Chicago Public Schools, many districts have adopted strict retention and promotion policies, often abandoning social-promotion programs that pushed students ahead with their peers regardless of achievement. Research shows that grade repetition is a strong predictor for dropping out. Summer, weekend, and transitional programs are partly…

Many young people in member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development leave school unprepared for employment; this constitutes a failure of the school system. Identifies indicators of failure, policies for addressing failure, and three main policy challenges: development of a comparative knowledge base, removal of…