Retention is a tough question.
ON the elementary level we take it case by case. On rare occassions we are allowed to retain a student if maturity is the cause of poor performance. When retained in a lower grade with parental support and an extra year of maturity, the retention is often successful. When the student is unmotivated and the parents are uninvolved even at this early age, retention is usually a disaster. By fifth and sixth grade we see many students with average to above average abilities that are just marking time.