Mr. Trumble is also aware that having an elementary student repeat a grade and go through the same material a second time is no guarantee of success. So Portsmouth has fashioned something of a compromise. The total number of classrooms and teachers is the same as without the program, but those students who, say, need more time on 1st grade material are grouped in a classroom with those needing more time in 2nd grade. That way an entire classroom is focused on bringing along students who need more help, and the students may move on to the next grade at any point during the year. He said he even considers it a matter of social justice.
Some researchers say yes.
Retention can actually harm academic achievement, according to Lorrie A. Shepard, the interim dean of the education school at the University of Colorado at Boulder. She argues that for an underachieving child, promotion is in the child's best interests academically. She cited recent analyses of existing research that show that when retained children went on to the next grade, they performed worse on average than if they had gone on without repeating. For that matter, students who are held back are more likely to drop out, many experts agree. Ms. Shepard's own research has found that to be the case.