Altering School Progression Through Delayed Entry or Kindergarten Retention: Propensity Score Analysis of Long-Term Outcomes

Kindergarten Redshirting: Implications for Children with Disabilities

“…In ten studies included in this review, researchers investigated the academic impact of kindergarten redshirting on students. Four of these studies looked more closely at short-term impacts, focusing on the child's first three years of school [22,25,26,34], while the other six focused on longer-term effects on academic achievement [27,28,[37][38][39][40]. National survey data such as ECLS-Kindergarten (ECLS-K;1998-2004) and National Educational Longitudinal Study (NELS; 1988) were used in five of these different studies in comparing educational outcomes of children redshirted in kindergarten with those who began kindergarten on time [27,28,[37][38][39].…”

Is Redshirting Beneficial for Reading Acquisition Success?

“…Regardless of the type of educational system, the controversy around the practice of academic redshirting continues to receive attention in the popular press (e.g., Lin et al, 2009;Safer, 2012;Moyer, 2013;Ashbrook, 2014;Schanzenbach and Larson, 2017) and in the academic field (e.g., Mendez et al, 2014;Huang, 2015;Barnadr-Brak and Albright, 2017;Fortner and Jenkins, 2018). A few studies have demonstrated some short-term benefits of academic redshirting (e.g., Datar, 2006;Bedard and Dhuey, 2006;Pong, 2009), although the majority of studies have shown no particular lasting advantages for redshirting students (e.g., Graue and Diperna, 2000;Gladwell, 2008;Cascio and Schanzenbach, 2016;Gottfried et al, 2016;Attar and Cohen-Zada, 2018).…”

“…The literature also refers some disadvantages of being redshirted. Researchers have found that redshirted students, compared to on-time students, had a higher probability of being placed in a special education program (Graue and Diperna, 2000;Mendez et al, 2014). The level of demotivation of these children, as a result of lack of stimulation, is another mentioned disadvantage (Schanzenbach and Larson, 2017).…”

Early elementary teacher ratings of behavior as predictors of grade retention: Race, gender, and socioeconomic status as potential moderators

“…Unfortunately, research has not shown that retention fulfills its intended purpose for most youth. Rather, longitudinal comparisons between retained and nonretained students have shown that retention does not level the playing field in the long run, with retained students showing lower academic achievement (e.g., Jimerson & Ferguson, ; Raffaele Mendez, Kim, Ferron, & Woods, ), poorer emotional health (Jimerson, Carlson, Rotert, Egeland, & Sroufe, ), higher rates of exclusionary discipline (e.g., Raffaele Mendez et al, ), and lower rates of high school graduation (Darney, Reinke, Herman, Stormont, & Ialongo, ; Stearns, Moller, Blau, & Potochnick, ; Sullivan & Bal, ) than their nonretained peers over time. Decades of research have drawn the same conclusion, namely that retention is not effective in promoting long‐term educational success among students who are struggling learners (Frey, ).…”

“…For example, grade retention has been identified as one of the most powerful predictors of school dropout (Jimerson, ; Jimerson, Anderson, & Whipple, ; Pagani, Tremblay, Vitaro, Boulerice, & McDuff, ; Stearns et al, ). Despite receiving an extra year to “mature” and master grade‐level standards, research has found that students who are retained are more likely than nonretained students to experience low self‐esteem and exhibit higher rates of classroom problem behaviors (Jimerson et al, ; Raffaele Mendez et al, ; Stearns et al, ). Moreover, even when studies have identified short‐term positive effects of retention on academic achievement (e.g., Schwerdt & West, ), these effects have been found to diminish over time, becoming statistically insignificant within 6 years.…”