Among researchers and educators, the debate about retention of students continues. Who is most likely to be retained in school? What are the pros and cons of such retention?

What will be an ideal response?


Most grade retention occurs in the early grades. About 20% of high school seniors were held back a grade at some point in their educational career. Increasingly, some parents are making the choice to retain their children in kindergarten so they will be ready and have an edge over their peers in later grades. The main reason teachers and parents advocate grade retention is to avoid social-promotion of children who are not academically on track. Moreover, some believe that children will try harder because they are aware of the consequences of not being grade level ready. However, not all researchers and educators agree. A study conducted by Hong and Raudenbush (2005) reviewed the findings of nearly 100 years of research and the weight of evidence indicates that retention is not helpful and may be harmful. They concluded that holding students back is associated with long-term negative outcomes such as school drop-out, low self-esteem, higher arrest rates, and more. There is little consensus about the benefits of grade retention and researchers and educators today focus more on readiness so that grade retention and social promotion are unnecessary.

Education

You might also like to view...

Which discipline modifies the physical education program to help students with learning disabilities who have problems with motor skills?

a. Physical education fitness program b. Adapted physical education c. Occupational therapy d. Neuropsychology e. Intramural sports program

Education

Children born with congenital infections are at high risk of:

a) having physical and sensory impairments b) recovering from their conditions c) responding positively to post-infection vaccination therapy d) neonatal wasting syndrome

Education

Which of the following is NOT criterion used for selecting evaluation instruments?

A. utility B. sensitivity C. appropriateness D. directness E. all of the above are criteria

Education

Answer the following statements true (T) or false (F)

1. Reading a newspaper article to the class about the day’s lesson is an example of an advance organizer. 2. Reciprocal teaching occurs when teachers provide substantial amounts of support and assistance in the earliest stages of teaching a new concept and then gradually decreasing the amount of support. 3. Higher-order thinking skills promote critical thinking. 4. The teacher should be expected to understand the structures of the subject they teach.

Education