And it denies students both the classroom and remedial resources that could help them reverse the pattern of academic failure. It is estimated that, each year, between 15 and 19 percent of U.S. students are kept back and as many as 50 percent of students in large urban areas are retained at least once before they graduate or drop out of school. And yet few studies have documented any appreciable long-term academic gains associated with retention. The National Association of School Psychologists also reports that most students do not catch up when they repeat a grade, those who appear to make progress frequently fall behind again in later grades, and that students who are retained often dislike school, suffer low self-esteem, and frequently become discipline problems. For those reasons, school systems like Chicago, that have found it necessary to implement wholesale retentions in order to counteract the effects of past social promotions, have also implemented support systems, such as tutoring, summer school, and counseling.
Retention alone offers students only what failed to work the first time.
Mass retention, even when accompanied by extensive support systems, is a costly and disruptive procedure. According to the AFT report, if we are to reverse the trend of student failure in our nation's schools, school districts must first address the question of why children fail and then institute widespread policy changes that will prevent the cycle of failure from ever beginning. Those changes, say AFT leaders, must include reform in the areas of school organization, curriculum, instruction, and educational programs. Clear, universal standards will ensure fair and objective methods for determining success, provide teachers with the authority to demand academic excellence, make academic expectations accessible to all students, teachers, and parents, and provide a consistent basis for assessment and for making successful promotion and retention decisions. School districts must develop policies to attract and retain the best teachers and provide those teachers with on-going training and support.