Latest Study on Retention – No New Information New study
consistent with prior research on retention. A new study, from
the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) Early Grade
Retention and Student Success: Evidence from Los Angeles, has
some public officials wondering if it is time to revisit the
practice of retention. Retention is the name given to the
practice of repeating an entire grade level. According to the
study, having students repeat a year in the early grades helped
numerous failing students reach proficiency in math and English.
The study reports that 41 percent of those retained reached full
proficiency in math and 18 percent in English Language Arts
(ELA). These percentages represented significant increases over
the recorded proficiency levels of these students prior to
repeating their year: 6 percent in math, and only 1 percent in
ELA. Ultimately, the researchers insist that blanket school
district policies prohibiting retention are misguided and that
the practice might be more cost-effec