The importance of cooperative and honest interaction between a school and parents in making a good decision about whether or not to retain a child is emphasized. The roles of school and parents are defined. An inset box summarizes research findings on retention and lists other alternatives to promotion. (MT)

Evaluated effects of nonpromotion in 137 high school students who had been retained in a grade, had participated in a junior first-grade program, or were matched controls. Results indicated that participants in junior first-grade programs were at par with peers, whereas grade repeaters made less progress in high school. (NRB)

Those who decide to keep a child in an elementary grade for an additional year do so despite very persuasive research evidence that negative effects consistently outweigh positive outcomes. Retention suggests the student is solely responsible and is therefore a punishment rather than a solution. (MT)

Content and performance standards can underlie high-quality assessments that provide useful information about how students and schools are doing. These data should be used to inform teaching decisions, trigger special supports for students' learning, and evaluate school practices, rather than simply allocating mechanistically determined rewards…

Examined relationship between extra-year programs and later school achievement among 95 children who were either retained in kindergarten, placed in transition classroom, recommended for extra-year program but went to first grade, or advanced to first grade without reservation. Found that children retained performed significantly lower on…

Grade retention is a common practice used when students fail to meet required benchmarks. Therefore, it is important that we understand the relative benefits and costs associated with students repeating a grade. In this article we analyze the costs and benefits of grade retention. In our examination of retention, we obtain our calculations of the…

A sizable literature has demonstrated that the achievement of children in early elementary school is related to their season of birth: Those born in summer typically perform less well than those born in the fall. A small literature indicates that more children diagnosed with specific learning disabilities (SLD) are born in the summer. We have…

Studies investigating repetition in SL/FL learners' private speech have focused mainly on its cognitive and metacognitive functions. In the present study, the classroom observations, video-recordings of lessons, audio-recordings of six learners and two teachers and simulated recall interviews were conducted in Japanese language classes over two…

The Rostrum is a quarterly publication of the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) The Need for full Time faculty (again) by Jane Patton; (2) Reading May Be the Key to Unlocking Basic Skills Success by Janet Fulks; (3) Diversity Institute on the Right Track by Beth Smith; (4)…

Alternative school settings for students who are identified as "disruptive or dangerous" are playing an increasingly prominent role in the world of public education, yet many gaps in the research literature are abound. This dissertation study is an effort to contribute to an understanding of the students placed in these alternative schools,…

Elementary school students often misinterpret the equal sign (=) as an operational rather than a relational symbol. Such misunderstanding is problematic because solving equations with missing numbers may be important for the development of higher order mathematics skills, including solving word problems. Research indicates equal-sign instruction…

This study examines the demographic, academic, social, and behavioral differences between GED (General Educational Development) candidates who were and were not retained in grade. Differences between candidates who were and were not retained in grade are examined with regard to factors such as demographics, delinquent behaviors, reasons for…

Low-achieving students in many school districts are retained in a grade in order to allow them to gain the academic or social skills that teachers believe are necessary to succeed academically. This practice is highly controversial, with many researchers claiming that it leads to higher dropout rates although selection issues have complicated…

We discuss the evidence on the effectiveness of preschool programs using results from three well-known intervention studies: the Chicago Child-Parent Centers, High/Scope Perry Preschool Program, and the Carolina Abecedarian Project. Results from cost-benefit analyses of other programs for younger and older children also are reported. Given that…

Educational research has found few benefits of preprimary school nonpromotion; nevertheless, in many countries the practice remains quite common. The aim of this study is to extend knowledge regarding preprimary nonpromotion via investigation of a wide set of child and family characteristics deemed predictive and discriminative of different…