During the past decade, amidst the current context emphasizing educational standards and accountability, the practice of grade retention has increased. The call for an end to social promotion has generated a variety of recommendations and legislation regarding promotion policies. This context has served as a catalyst for numerous debates regarding the use of grade retention and social promotion. In an era emphasizing evidence-based interventions, research indicates that neither grade retention nor social promotion is a successful strategy for improving educational success. Moreover, research also reveals prevention and intervention strategies that are likely to promote the social or academic competence of students at risk of poor school performance. It is essential that educational professionals are familiar with the research when implementing interventions to promote student success. School psychologists may use this article as a primer for teachers, administrators, and parents, as it provides a synthesis of research addressing the following important questions: (a) What are the demographic characteristics of retained students? (b) What are the effects of retention on academic and socioemotional outcomes? (c) What long-term outcomes are associated with grade retention? (d) What are students' perspectives regarding grade retention? (e) How does a developmental perspective enhance our understanding? (f ) What are some empirically supported effective intervention strategies? Educational professionals are encouraged to incorporate evidence-based programs and policies to facilitate the success of all students. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.As someone on the front lines in the battle of closing the achievement gap, I struggle with decisions that are made to retain a child who has failed to master grade level content. Retention decisions are not made hastily, cases are thoroughly reviewed. Often the contributing factors to the student's readiness to acquire and retain grade-level content include those related to family circumstances. Suspicions of learning disabilities are quelled, if only temporarily, by data garnered from psychoeducational testing. Too often I have learned that one of my primary grade students who had been retained surfaced with academic difficulties at the intermediate level and upon being retested, qualified as a student with a learning disability. Are these students truly learning disabled or has the system failed them? Retention is clearly not the answer in an overwhelming majority of my students' cases, instead, I search for strategies to help these children succeed in school.Mariellen Kerr, School Psychologist and Elementary Counselor (personal communication,

The practice of delaying children's entry into a kindergarten program 1 year beyond the traditional chronolgical age of their classmates is a controversial issue. although this practice has been said to reduce the need for grade retentions and special education services, the research literature has yielded contradictory results about the effects of delayed entry on students. the present study examined the effects of delayed entry in one suburban new york school district on later elementaryschool grade retention and special education service rates. in addition, the influence of gender on the practice of delayed entry was investigated. the sample for this study consisted of all students (n = 3,238) who were enrolled in grades 1 through 12; from this, a subsample of all children (n = 279) who had delayed school entry were identified, and their records were examined for future retentions and use of special education services. it was found that students who delayed school entry were most often male and were placed in special education programs in significantly higher proportions than nondelayed-entry students. no significant effect of delayed entry was noted for retention.