10 Research-Based Reasons Repeating a Grade Hurts Children

Research findings over the last 50 years have indicated that retaining students in a grade has negative rather than positive consequences. Carefully consider these points before you agree to allow your child to repeat a grade:

1. Research shows that repeating a grade does not benefit children academically or socially in the long run.

2. There is abundant evidence that retained students would have achieved higher results in math and reading had they been promoted.

3. Retention may have helped the struggling learner only in the year after the retention when he was repeating everything, but gains quickly dropped off in a couple years. In fact, the advantage of first grade retention no longer existed in reading and mathematics by third grade.

4. On standardized tests, students who repeated a grade continued to score below other low-performing students who had not repeated a grade.

5. Children who had repeated a grade showed poorer social adjustment, more negative attitudes towards school, more problem behaviors and poorer attendance.

6. A greater percentage of retained students drop out of high school, in contrast to the low-achieving but promoted students. In fact, retained students are 2 to 11 times more likely to drop out of high school than promoted students” (Wiley).

7. Wiley’s research indicated that grade level retention would cause serious harm and destroy the academic futures for most students (Wiley, 2006).

8. Research as early as the 1970’s has reported that retention is harmful to students (Jackson, 1975).

9. Negative student outcomes appear as lower academic achievement, poor self-esteem, and dropping out of school (Jimerson, & Kaufman, 2003; Anderson, Whipple, & Jimerson, 2002).

10. A child never completely recovers from being left behind in a grade while his/her peers move up. Ask a child who has been retained what grade he/she is in. The sad reply is always the same, e.g. “I’m in fourth but I should be in fifth.”