A study was conducted to determine if participation in a pre-first grade transactional program would be more effective than grade repetition in enhancing first grade readiness. The transition program emphasized the acquisition of academic and behavioral skills necessary for a successful first grade experience. Students in the program were trained…

Project Upswing was a two-year tutoring experiment directed by universities in Denver, Oxford (Mississippi), St. Louis, and San Francisco and involving first graders identified by their teachers at the beginning of the school year as capable of normal achievement but having learning difficulties. Half of the students served as a control group and…

As a part of a study of educational wastage in Asian countries by the United Nations Educational, Scientific , and Cultural Organization, this summary review reports the incidence of dropout and retardation in public elementary schools in the countries included in the study (mainly Afghanistan, Malaysia, Nepal, and the Philippines). It is noted…

Results of a study of the cognitive and affective development of 1,292 students, mostly Black or Hispanic, who had been retained more than once in the elementary grades indicate that retention and intervention must take place early to increase subject mastery. Curriculum improvement and teacher retraining are critical factors in improving minority…

At Santa Maria Middle School in southwest Phoenix, Arizona, teachers have decided to maintain their relationships with their students by looping through sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. Here, they describe the results of the first three years of the program, discussing the development of their team's priorities and the strategies they embraced…

This paper suggests that since neither grade retention nor social promotion work, there must be an alternative between these two extremes. Successful efforts to end these practices should: identify student problems as early as possible; intervene as soon as problems are identified; design the extra help around each student's needs; and have strong…

Taped before an audience of teachers from around the country, this 65-minute videotape presents a discussion between James Comer and Chip Wood, noted experts in child development and education, in which they converse and respond to questions about critical issues confronting educators today. During the first part of the video, Comer and Wood…

The Texas Education Code requires the Texas Education Agency to submit a comprehensive biennial report on the number of students retained in grade level in the Texas public school system. This report presents a summary of the literature on the effects of grade level retention on the academic, social, and psychological development of students,…

The Texas Education Code requires the Texas Education Agency to submit a comprehensive biennial report containing a summary of information related to grade level retention of students in the Texas public school system. This report looks at retention in Texas based on data collected over a 3-year period, beginning with the 1993-94 school year. The…

A major reason for social promotion has been to avoid feelings of failure on the part of the student who has been failed in the past. Failure to achieve academically has meant that the involved student repeats a grade. Feelings of failure make for an inadequate self-concept and might well involve future failure in life. This paper examines which…

Recounts the story of a fifth grader who decides he wants to be returned to the fourth grade. Describes parental reaction and actions of parents and school administration to determine best placement. Describes the child's satisfaction, personal adjustment, and academic success three years after decision to repeat part of fourth grade. (KB)

The roles of cognitive, perceptual, visual-motor, behavioral, achievement, and demographic factors in nonpromotion at kindergarten were examined for 34 nonpromoted and 34 promoted kindergarten children. Retained children were more likely to be young, male, and of lower socioeconomic status. Implications for interventions to assist retained…

Examines why seven third-grade teachers modified their skills-based reading and language arts program, and describes the instructional changes they made over a two-year period. Examines changes in students' reading and language arts standardized achievement test scores (increases in 4 classrooms), special education referrals (81% decrease), and…

Kindergarten children (n=161) screened with the "Early Prevention of School Failure" (EPSF) measure were examined several years later. Students who had been retained, referred to special education, or placed in special education demonstrated significantly lower EPSF scores. The fine motor and auditory modalities were the most powerful…

Grade-retention policies of 100 California school districts were rated according to the amount of effort required to implement retention policies and the extent to which objective criteria govern retention decisions. Results support use of this framework for comparing retention policies and rates when district size is taken into account. (SLD)