Comments on: More states requiring students to repeat a grade: Is it the right thing to do?

By: The literacy crisis: Searching for solutions in Mississippi | Mississippi News Feed

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 17:40:17 +0000

[...] are pointing to research that shows mixed results when students are held back, including lower graduation rates, a higher likelihood that retained students will experience [...]

By: In the News – August 27, 2012 | Educate Now!

In the News – August 27, 2012 | Educate Now! — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 14:46:09 +0000

[...] More States Requiring Students to Repeat a Grade: Is It the Right Thing to Do? Hechinger Report – August 16, 2012 A report published this month by the Brookings Institution suggests that, at least for younger children who struggle with reading, repeating a grade may be beneficial. Still, retaining students is not a perfect solution. For some, it creates a greater likelihood of bullying and victim behavior or dropping out of high school. [...]

By: Sarah Garland

Sarah Garland — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 15:28:15 +0000

Some research has suggested that retaining kids at younger ages may be better than retaining them later on. Holding a student back in middle school, for example, is more likely to affect their chances of graduation. The Chicago Consortium on School Research looked at this a while back. I also touched on it in an article I wrote about charter school retention policies.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 14:17:39 +0000

I live in Canada and I had to fight to get my daughter held back in elementary twice (Gr 2 and Gr 4). Wacko parent? Maybe not.

She is mildly – moderately mentally challenged with ASD and, being on a special diet for seizure control, much smaller in size than her peers. Integrated in a regular classroom but pulled out approximately 40% of the time for one-on-one or small group. She got along so much better with the younger kids and, although I didn’t expect retention to cause her to “catch up” to grade level, I figured an extra year (or two) of teaching couldn’t hurt.

She is now 19 and going into Gr 12. She can (and will) stay in school until she is 21 (because essentially we have no other options for her). So this means she will graduate and come back for one more year as opposed to the multiple years she would have spent in high school had we not retained. Trust me, I am much happier that she spent those extra years in elementary (which is much a more welcoming environment and a much easier place to make inclusion work) than in high school.

She has come a long way since elementary school and is actually relatively quite high-functioning now. Although as a parent you can never be sure you’re making the right choice at the time, in hindsight I am very happy with the choices we made. Incidentally, to this day she doesn’t realize she was retained in Gr 2 (she was so much in her own world back then that that fact didn’t even make a dent in her reality). She did notice in Gr 4 but it was all in how it was presented to her and she was fine with it.

No. I’m not suggesting this is the answer for every (or even the majority) of struggling kids. But I think “policies” (whether for or against retention) tend to push towards losing the “i” in IEPs. And that’s not helpful to anybody, particularly these kids.

By: Andrew Wiley

Andrew Wiley — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 21:02:39 +0000

Why are we attached to the idea of schools? They were only created as an efficient way to deliver instruction to children. Once we get rid of schools and teachers, children will blossom and bloom and magically turn into geniuses and productive citizens. While we are at it, why are we attached to the idea that children are different, and that some children need education that is different from what most children need? All children are just subtle shades of above average, am I right?

By: Daily Education News- 8/21/12 | Rodel Foundation of Delaware

Daily Education News- 8/21/12 | Rodel Foundation of Delaware — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 15:37:22 +0000

[...] Report More states requiring students to repeat a grade: Is it the right thing to do? Retention policies are controversial because the research is mixed for students who are held [...]

By: Is Holding Back More Students the Way to Go? » Education Roundup

Is Holding Back More Students the Way to Go? » Education Roundup — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 13:07:36 +0000

[...] graders to repeat the grade if they can’t read by the end of the school year. There is some conflict regarding this approach. The science is still out on whether or not holding students back actually helps with learning. [...]

By: Lorenzo M Rodriguez

Lorenzo M Rodriguez — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 22:13:58 +0000

Where are the numbers? For as much education that this profession has, I RARELY see either objective study results or the numbers associated with statements such as: “not necessarily a good idea, according to the research”.
Teaching is my third go around (Military and Business figures strongly in my background) and I have never seen “wishful thinking” dominate a field as much as I have in Education.
I teach Earth Science in an Urban High School with an 86% poverty rate. If students can’t read, they can’t infer and these children are quite aware of what they’re going through.
Personally, neither myself nor my students give a large rodents furry backside about what grade they are in – they are trying to deal with an unresponsive system that is obsessed with rearranging the deck chairs.
Teach them to READ, Teacher.

By: More states requiring students to repeat a grade: Is it the right thing to do? - Thoughtful Women

Fri, 17 Aug 2012 19:32:06 +0000

[...] out more about the study and alternative methods here. ShareFacebookRedditStumbleUponTwitterLinkedInEmailPinterestDiggTumblrPrint Filed [...]

By: Sarah Garland

Sarah Garland — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 12:28:11 +0000

Places like Kentucky have experimented with doing away with grade levels in the early years, specifically until fourth grade. And of course there’s the Montessori model. Would welcome comments about how those have worked.