Examined parents' school involvement by family type and explored the association between their involvement and whether students get mostly A's, have ever repeated a grade, or have ever been suspended or expelled. Data from the National Household Education Survey indicate that school involvement is not the same across family types, and that…

Several recent articles articles have emphasized that educators must begin to speak out strongly about the direction that the standards movement is taking. While many positive outcomes have been realized as education has become more accountable, a series of recent education policy decisions have flown directly in the face of many years of…

Policies that mandate in-grade retention of low-performing students have become central components of standards-based reforms across the country. While educational researchers have extensively studied the student-level correlates of retention and the consequences of retention for student achievement, little attention has been focused on…

This study examined the school experiences and academic achievement of 46 adolescents in families who experienced homelessness and 87 permanently housed adolescents whose families received public assistance. Measures taken after the homeless students were rehoused showed that both groups valued school highly and were similar in cognitive abilities…

This study investigated self-harming behaviors in 149 female adolescent victims of sexual abuse, first, by determining the rates of nine types of self-mutilating behavior at intake and nine months later and, second, by investigating comorbidity of clinical correlates associated with these behaviors. The adolescents were divided into three groups…

An increasing number of urban districts are scrapping traditional high school grade structures, changing their retention policies, and devising more flexible routes toward graduation to address high dropout rates. Educators in Baltimore, Boston, Houston and Rochester, New York say they are particularly focused on the 9th grade, a year when many…

Grade retention is an intervention that has received increasing scrutiny as policies, practices, and results of research diverge. This longitudinal study examines the reading growth trajectories of students (n=147) from first-through eighth-grade. Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) analytic procedures provide unique insights regarding the relative…

Individual differences in nonword repetition (NWR) show a particularly strong association with vocabulary acquisition for both first- (L1) and second-language (L2) learners, and they serve as a behavioral marker for specific language impairment (SLI) in children (Gathercole, 2006). However, this association is susceptible to alternative…

This Commentary supports Gathercole's (2006) proposal on a double deficit in children with specific language impairment (SLI). The author suggests that these children have a limited phonological storage combined with a particular problem of processing novel speech stimuli. According to Gathercole, there are three areas of skill contributing to…

Educational researchers in the United States contend that making low-performing students repeat a grade is an ineffective educational practice. This view derives largely from the summary of grade retention research reported by Holmes (1989). A meta-analysis of more recent studies (Jimerson, 2001) also concludes that the practice of grade retention…

This document reports findings of a California Department of Education (DOE) study that examined grade-retention practices in the state. Data were collected primarily through surveys of schools and school districts. Findings indicate that approximately 1 in 10 students spent an extra year in school before second grade during the 1988-89 school…

Larry arrived from California and was put in a fifth grade class's lowest reading group which was reading third-grade-level basals. Larry was often disruptive during reading instruction and claimed he could only read when the book was upside down. Tests indicated that Larry had normal vision but that he was learning disabled and reading at only a…

This study compared academic achievement and self-concept of kindergarten and first grade students who had been retained with first graders who had not been retained. The academic achievement of kindergarten children who were retained was also compared with that of children socially promoted to first grade. Results indicated that both kindergarten…

This paper describes a research study on promotion with reservation, in which students are accountable for their course work and must repeat courses they have failed. Subjects of the study were seventh and eighth grade students at Scenic Junior High School, Oregon. These students failed required courses during the school year 1983-84 and chose…

Studies were conducted locally to augment findings from the literature regarding the effect of school entrance age, and to examine several other issues related to the St. Louis Public School's kindergarten screening program. Studies reported address a number of questions related to program planning and policy development: (1) Is there evidence to…