Recent research suggests that retention is not effective and can actually be harmful. A 1989 University of Georgia study found that kids who were held back suffered in areas of student achievement, attendance, personal adjustment and attitude toward school. The study compared those retained to low performing students who were promoted and found those retained fared worse than those who moved ahead. Other studies in more recent years have made similar findings. Still, experts say retention and social promotion are polar opposites.
Children perform best somewhere in the middle ground.
The greatest chance for rehabilitating students is to attempt to work with students before they reach the point of failure and before teachers are faced with the decision of whether to promote or retain. School reform including after-school programs, reading programs, summer school and other academic activities can help mentor and monitor kids before it s too late. Kindergarten through second grades were the most frequently repeated. Research shows that most American teachers prefer retention to social promotion. An Arizona State University study shows that teachers would rather err on the side of retention than social promotion.