Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1998

Publication Title

Educational Leadership

Volume

56

Issue

1

Pages

86-88

Abstract

Although almost 50 years of research has shown that grade-level retention affords no academic advantages to students, this practice is gaining increasing attention as schools face political pressure to be accountable for student achievement. The negative effect that retention has on children is ignored in favor of an overly simplistic view of it as a panacea for education woes. In an attempt to better meet student needs, educators historically have seen retention as a way to reduce skill variance in the classroom. However, this practice has not achieved its objective. An at-risk population is cognitively and affectively harmed by retention. Educators need to stop punishing nonlearners and instead provide opportunities for success if they are to treat their students professionally. Alternatives that should be considered include offering intensive remediation before and after school, requiring summer school, increasing teacher expectations, and changing teacher and administrative perceptions.

Rights

© 1998 Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development, now Robin Merger Corporation, Inc.

Included with the kind written permission of the copyright holder.

ORCID

0000-0001-5074-441X (Owings)

Original Publication Citation

Owings, W. A., & Magliaro, S. (1998). Grade retention: A history of failure. Educational Leadership, 56(1), 86-88.

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