The Newark (New Jersey) School District's Twice-Retained Program was evaluated for 1985-86. This alternative program was designed for students in grades 1 through 8 who had a history of two or more grade retentions. It emphasized instruction in reading and mathematics and evaluated the pre- and post-program performance in those areas, as well as on scales of affective and social development. Other variables included classroom setting (heterogeneous or homogeneous grouping), teacher expectations, degree of implementation of the curriculum model, and recency of retention. The program was based on Madeline Hunter's Instructional Theory into Practice (ITIP), which emphasizes: (1) selecting learning at the correct level of difficulty; (2) teaching to the objective; (3) monitoring learning and adjusting the teaching; and (4) using the principles of learning. Results showed that classification into the Twice-Retained program benefited students more in mathematics than in reading, where achievement declined in the higher grades. Also, mathematics achievement was higher in the homogeneously grouped classes. More benefit accrued when the academic retention was recent, and when the students were in the earlier grades (in reading). On the affective measures, students who were heterogeneously grouped fared better than those homogeneously grouped, suggesting an adverse effect of labeling retained students. (JGL)