Grade retention and school entry age in Spain: a structural problem

Abstract

Grade retention has been the focus of the education debate in Spain for decades. On average, more than 30% of students have repeated at least one grade before they finish (or dropout from) their compulsory studies. The present research provides new evidence on this issue by investigating the influence of Spain’s school entry age upon students’ grade retention. Using data from 15-year-old students who participated in the PISA 2006, 2009, 2012 and 2015 assessments, we implement a regression discontinuity analysis. Our key finding is that students who were born late in the year (younger students) are more likely to repeat a grade. Yet, once they reach secondary education, the disadvantage they suffer due to their younger school starting age seems to disappear. Hence, the key reason why younger students have lower PISA scores than older students in Spain is due to their increased likelihood of repeating a grade, rather than being due to their relative age per se. To avoid these artificial disadvantages of younger students and unfair retention, we suggest that policymakers inform families about this school entry issue and also make the school entry law more flexible. This would facilitate parents of younger children to choose whether to delay their children’s school enrolment or not.

The Effects of the Lowered Compulsory School Entry Age on the Curriculum

“…In countries where the beginning of compulsory education is 4 or 5 years old, education is organized in different ways: in some countries, children at this age start attending school, in others, participation in early childhood education is compulsory. According to Eurydice, the school entry age is the only criterion for admission to primary schools in most European countries (Lopez-Agudo, & Marcenaro-Gutierrez, 2022). The schoolreadiness criterion for admission to primary school is only applied in a few countries.…”

“…Scientific research findings reveal the positive aspects of early school entry age: it influences better student achievements, further successful development of the child, reduces social exclusion, increases child accessibility. It also helps to enter the labor market earlier (Guo, Wang, & Meng, 2023;Jerrim, Lopez-Agudo, & Marcenaro-Gutierrez, 2022;Görlitz, Penny, & Tamm, 2022;Le, & Nguyen, 2021). However, there are scientific studies (Jankowska, Bogdanowicz, & Jonak, 2014) which show that starting compulsory education too early can also be harmful to the child: he/she may experience difficulties leading to poorer educational results.…”

Investigating the Influence of Social Support Factors on Retention of Boys in Public Secondary Schools in Marsabit County

“…In Spain, Jerrim et al (2021) investigated how the designs set up by secondary schools of redundancy of classes influence the period of students and ultimately their dropping rates. The review uncovered that in Spain just 70% of the students can finish a grade without redundancy.…”

“…Accordingly, when compelled to rehash classes, they at last grew out of their ages subsequently causing them to feel awkward. Jerrim et al (2021) in this way exhorted that there ought to be strategies that are adaptable on when a youngster should be selected to school so when they come to Secondary schools, their age matches their particular classes/grades.…”

Pedagogical change and innovation culture in secondary education: a Delphi study

“…Grade retention is not automatic in Spain, and is a major problem in Compulsory Secondary Education (ESO) (Goos et al, 2021;Jerrim et al, 2022;Santos et al, 2023). According to PISA data, Spain ranks third among countries with the highest percentage of 15-year-old students who have repeated at least once (28.7%).…”