Grade retention: decision-making and effects on learning as well as social and emotional development

Bonvin, Patrick; Bless, Gérard; Schuepbach, Marianne

doi:10.1080/09243450701856499

Cited by 40 publications

(71 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…The literature of Bowman (2005) and Jimerson, Carlson, Rotert, Egeland, and Sroufe (1997) concluded that grade repetition decisions and recommendations were influenced by teachers' subjective opinions of students' classroom performance, social and emotional functioning, and performance on standardized assessments. The research of Bonvin et al (2008) and Witmer et al (2004) found that teachers' grade repetition beliefs were most influenced by colleagues, peers, practical knowledge, or on-the job experience, rather than by research findings. Range's (2009) study concluded that the most powerful predictor of grade repetition is the attitude of the teacher.…”

Section: Grade Repetition Determinantsmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Comparison of students at different grade levels, but with the same number of attended school years; normally of the same age-span (Bonvin, Bless, & Schuepbach, 2008).…”

Section: Same-age Comparisonmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Comparison of students at the same grade level who are of different ages due to grade retention (Bonvin et al, 2008).…”

Section: Same-grade Comparisonmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a study that looked at trends over time for those below the model grade (BMG), a proxy for grade retention, Frederick and Hauser's (2008) data from 1972-2005 used a systematic variation logistic regression model and found that, "The predictive power of retention warrants tracking both retention rates and disparities in them" because the "official national and statelevel statistics on either the incidence or prevalence of retention are scarce" (p. 719). Grade repetition decisions are often based on factors that are not directly linked to the student's actual achievement or potential, and this bias created randomness in the practice of grade repetition (Bonvin et al, 2008). There were also several unsystematic factors which affected the decision to retain a student (Alexander et al, 2003).…”

Section: Grade Repetition Determinantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There were also several unsystematic factors which affected the decision to retain a student (Alexander et al, 2003). Bonvin et al (2008) completed nationwide, empirical, three measurement points, longitudinal research regarding student retention and found that determinants for the practice were largely underdeveloped. Schnurr, Kundert, and Nickerson (2009) agreed there was limited information regarding the uniformity of how a retention decision was made and, more specifically, for which type of child.…”

Section: Grade Repetition Determinantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Experiences with grade repetition : a narrative inquiry using a resiliency lens

Kay¹

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For decades, retention has been a common practice implemented as an intervention for the at-risk or underperforming student (Alexander, Entwisle, & Dauber, 2003;Jimerson, Pletcher, & Kerr, 2005;Murray, Woodruff, & Vaughn, 2010;Penfield, 2010;Shepard & Smith, 1990;Warren & Saliba, 2012). While practitioners believe grade repetition raised students to grade level standards, often this intervention resulted in short-term academic achievement gains, followed by a fade in progress, and a negative student attitude toward school .Research shows that grade repetition does more academic, social, and emotional harm than good & Dalton, 2002;Parker, 2001;Rouse, 2007;Shepard & Smith, 1990), and political policy (Martin, 2009;Murray et al, 2010;Penfield, 2010;Shepard & Smith, 1990;Tanner & Combs, 1993;Van Breda, 2011). Recent data further supported that there is a potential disconnect between research and practice, and given that practitioners continue to repeat students, it might be advantageous for researchers to evaluate students' lives post-retention (Gottfried, 2012). It is through the lens of academic resilience theory that this narrative inquiry presented the long overlooked stories of eight students retained in elementary school in order to explore the following research question: How did students' experience with grade repetition in

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Section: Grade Repetition Determinantsmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Comparison of students at different grade levels, but with the same number of attended school years; normally of the same age-span (Bonvin, Bless, & Schuepbach, 2008).…”

Section: Same-age Comparisonmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Comparison of students at the same grade level who are of different ages due to grade retention (Bonvin et al, 2008).…”

Section: Same-grade Comparisonmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Grade Repetition Determinantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Grade Repetition Determinantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Experiences with grade repetition : a narrative inquiry using a resiliency lens

Kay¹

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Can failure be prevented? Using longitudinal data to identify at‐risk students upon entering secondary school

Vinas-Forcade

Mels

Houtte

et al. 2020

British Educational Res J

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In 2016, Uruguay started gathering longitudinal student data to improve educational trajectories by putting in place an 'early alert' system. Underlying the system is the understanding that prior schooling predicts likelihood of grade repetition and grade repetition predicts later school dropout, while close follow-up can help prevent both repetition and dropout. We used a database of administrative registries from a national public primary school graduating cohort on their last year in primary and first year in secondary education (2015-2016, n = 36,754). We conducted two-level cross-classified logistic regression analyses to assess the suitability of using features of Uruguayan students' primary school trajectories, individual, family and primary school characteristics to predict their success or failure in their first year of secondary school. All considered prior schooling factors (previous repetition experiences, achievement, behaviour and absenteeism), the student's family socioeconomic status (SES) and primary school's SES composition, as well as the location of the school in an urban or rural setting, help explain differences in chances of first-year success or failure (grade repetition) in secondary school. While these results support the 'early alert' system's approach, predictive performance analyses are needed when using explanatory models for planning interventions with scarce resources and making decisions affecting individual students' trajectories. The importance of testing resulting models' sensitivity, as well as their false positive rates, is highlighted.

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Grade retention and academic self‐concept: A multilevel analysis of the effects of schools’ retention composition

Canegem

Houtte

Demanet

2021

British Educational Res J

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Previous studies on the impact of grade retention on academic self-concept suffer from inconclusive findings. There is no consensus if retention yields long-term benefits that could offset its opportunity costs and, if so, under what conditions. Therefore, this article examines whether grade retention decreases academic self-concept and whether this relationship is mediated by sense of belonging. Moreover, we aim to contextualise retention research by accounting for schools' retention composition. Based on reference group theory, the effect of grade retention composition on academic self-concept is expected to be twofold. Normative reference grouping leads to the assumption that students in high retention composition schools will exhibit lower levels of academic selfconcept, because retainees' values are more likely to spread across all students within the same school. Comparative reference grouping might lead to a moderation effect of retention composition on the relationship between grade retention and academic self-concept. Multilevel analyses on International Study of City Youth data, consisting of 2,354 students in 30 secondary schools in Ghent (Flanders), revealed a negative association between grade retention and academic selfconcept, which was mediated by sense of belonging. Students in high retention composition schools had a significantly lower academic self-concept. The impact of being retained on academic selfconcept is not affected by the number of retainees within a given context. Implications are discussed.

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Grade retention: decision-making and effects on learning as well as social and emotional development

Cited by 40 publications

References 32 publications

Experiences with grade repetition : a narrative inquiry using a resiliency lens

Experiences with grade repetition : a narrative inquiry using a resiliency lens

Can failure be prevented? Using longitudinal data to identify at‐risk students upon entering secondary school

Grade retention and academic self‐concept: A multilevel analysis of the effects of schools’ retention composition

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