Gateway Literacy Retention Policies: Perspectives and Implications from the Field

Abstract

South Carolina’s Read to Succeed Law (RTS) is different than the other 15 states’ literacy-based third grade retention laws. It mandates literacy intervention training for in-service and pre-service teachers. Research indicates academic gains from retention are short-lived, diminishing over time and increasing drop-out rates. Through a statewide survey, this study identifies educators’ perceptions and knowledge of retention and the RTS policy, and examines the relationship between knowledge and perceptions. Educators were not familiar with retention research or RTS specifics, but favored retention. Implications include the need for more teacher training regarding new state policies and the efficacy of their foundations. This study provides evidence that policymakers should consider the means of implementation and shoulder accountability for a structured and equitable support system.

Analysing grade retention beliefs within teachers’ psycho-pedagogic beliefs system

“…The persistence of positive beliefs regarding the effectiveness of grade retention has intrigued many theorists and researchers (Crahay et al, 2013), given the common negative or non-significant effects found in many studies (Goos et al, 2021). In general, most investigations associated the persistence of these beliefs to the lack of teachers' knowledge regarding the effects of grade retention, acquired through formal documents of scientific origin or training (Barrett-Tatum et al, 2019;Boraita, 2015;Crahay et al, 2013;Ribeiro et al, 2018;Witmer et al, 2004). However, little is known about how grade retention beliefs develop or how they are related to other constructs or teachers' sociodemographic and professional characteristics.…”

“…This gap in the literature is in part explained by the instruments used by most studies to assess teachers' beliefs about grade retention, composed of items of different nature and unknown inter-relational structure. For example, most researches used adaptations of the Teachers' Perception about Retention Survey (TPRS), developed by Tomchin and Impara (1992) (e.g., Barrett-Tatum et al, 2019;Bonvin, 2003;Range et al, 2011Range et al, , 2012Santana, 2019;Young et al, 2019;Witmer et al, 2004). However, the questionnaire was not subjected to factor analysis in any of the abovementioned studies, so its inter-relational structure is still unknown.…”

“…However, considering the lack of definitive evidence of grade retention's long-term effectivity, several authors consider that the onus should shift as to why practitioners continue to recommend the use of retention (e.g., Biegler, 2000;Crahay et al, 2013;Range et al, 2012). Still, the most recent research in this area continues to study teachers' beliefs about grade retention in isolation from other beliefs (e.g., Barrett-Tatum et al, 2019;Cipriano & Da Cruz Martins, 2021;Kyereko et al, 2022;Young et al, 2019). Validate knowledge about the relationship between teachers' grade retention beliefs and other beliefs would help design training programs, interpret the research results about the relationship between beliefs and practices, and understand the results of studies that tried to prompt a change in beliefs (Crahay et al, 2016;Richardson, 1996).…”