New research from the Center for Collaborative Education finds that students in Boston's Pilot high schools outperform students from other non-exam Boston Public Schools on every standard measure of engagement and performance. This level of achievement holds for every racial, economic, and academic subgroup examined. Pilot high school students…

Extra-year school readiness programs, which serve as "developmental kindergartens" or "junior first grades," are well-intentioned transition programs between kindergarten and first grade that are intended to serve children judged to be at risk for early school failure. Despite their good intentions, these programs are…

This paper reports on a longitudinal study of the structural effects of grade retention on dropout rate and percent of graduates qualified. The study drew on computer simulation to explore the effects of retention and how this practice affects dropout rate, the percent of graduates who meet required standards, and enrollment itself. The computer…

Retention, the practice of requiring a child to repeat a particular grade, is often presented as the answer for poor academic or behavioral performance in school. To explore the effectiveness of this approach, the long-term impact of retention is discussed here. The paper focuses on students who were retained in kindergarten and these students'…

Elementary students who are overage due to retention are compared with those who are overage for other reasons on both at-risk indicators and demographic factors. Records of 127 fifth, sixth, and seventh graders were examined with respect to student performance on academic indicators of at-risk behavior. Findings indicate that overage students…

Certain conclusions can be drawn from the fact that both entering school late and being retained in grade have negative effects on children. Children should start school as soon as they are eligible. Retention should be avoided whenever possible. The best alternative to retention in grade seems to be promotion in combination with individual…

Examining student promotion standards in American education, the author reviews the origins and history of the shift between merit promotion (which advances students based on demonstrated skill competence) and social promotion (which advances students in response to their social needs). Case studies of promotional policies are provided for schools…

This teacher's guide reviews the literature on grade retention and promotion to help teachers make decisions concerning students in the primary grades. A brief introduction provides a statement of the problem; outlines the purpose, organization, and limitations of the study; and presents a glossary. Annotated citations for 34 studies are…

Aware that some kindergarten children are not ready for the demands of a structured program, a kindergarten teacher developed and implemented a program which made use of classroom learning centers to help kindergarten students grow in all areas of development. Special attention was given to the process of helping students: (1) develop belief in…

The 1983 6-week summer school program of the District of Columbia Schools provided remedial courses to elementary and secondary students in reading and mathematics, in courses needed for promotion and graduation, and in developing career and entry level skills for student interns. In evaluating the program, this report found that the average…

This investigation at a southern Texas school district examined three factors that bear on teachers' decisions to recommend first- and second-grade students for retention: (1) criteria used by teachers, (2) degree to which criteria are common among teachers, and (3) relationship of recommendations for promotion or retention to objective measures…

In accordance with research into what makes schools effective, efforts were made to translate the findings into a school improvement project in the New York City Public Schools. The research isolated five characteristics of schools identified as effective (that is, as demonstrating for 3 years the ability to deliver basic school skills to the full…

This monograph briefly describes state legislation and administrative rules concerning competency-based education. Defeated legislation is also included. In 1978-79 California, Nevada, and New York are requiring graduating seniors to pass a proficiency exam before receiving a diploma. In Nevada and New York similar exams are administered to…

A short history of the establishment of kindergartens in British Columbia prefaces this study of 22,000 public school children in grades one, two, and three (who had or had not attended kindergarten) in School District 39 of Vancouver and District 61 of Victoria. The effect of kindergarten attendance was evaluated as it related to (1) report card…

The present study, funded under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Title III, was a preliminary investigation of patterns of academic success and failure of American Indian elementary school children. Data on the 157 children in the sample were obtained through parent interviews, testing measures of academic achievement, and several…