Effects of grade retention on academic performance and behavioral development

Abstract

This study examined the controversial practice of grade retention and children's academic and behavioral adjustment using data from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Kindergarten Children. We employed an autoregressive modeling technique to detect the impact of being held back during primary school on subsequent academic performance and behavioral development until age 12 years. The results indicate both a short- and long-term negative influence on academic performance for boys and girls. Children's anxious, inattentive, and disruptive behaviors persisted and, in some cases, worsened after grade retention. These prospective associations were long lasting and more pronounced when grade retention occurred early in primary school. Boys were more vulnerable to the negative influence of grade retention on academic performance and classroom disruptiveness. Disruptive behavior in girls was comparatively less associated with long-term consequences than boys. Nevertheless, girls experienced both short- and long-term academic performance problems in the aftermath of grade retention. Children's prosocial behavior appeared unaffected by grade retention. These results are independent of what would have been expected by the natural course of academic and behavioral development.

Clinical and psychoeducational profile of children with specific learning disability and co-occurring attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder

“…[25] Class retention, which had been experienced by 30% of the study children, is also known to cause severe emotional stress and lead to aggressive/ withdrawn behaviors. [26] What is the utility of the present study? We believe that the results of the present study will help generate awareness about children with SpLD/ ADHD among pediatricians and school authorities all over our country and result in their early identiÞ cation and initiation of appropriate psychoeducational interventions, namely, remedial education and provisions (accommodations) for SpLD and behavioral and medical management for ADHD.…”

Early childhood television viewing and kindergarten entry readiness

“…Higher scores indicate a higher degree of the factor. The Social Behavior Questionnaire represents a good predictor of future socioemotional adjustment and school success (32,42).…”

The Short‐Term Effect of Grade Retention on Peer Relations and Academic Performance of At‐Risk First Graders

“…They concluded: "Retention, so far as we can determine, does not impede … children academically or assault their self-esteem in the early years, yet something about the experience apparently weakened repeaters' attachment to school" (p. ix). Similarly, Pagani et al (2001) employed autoregressive modeling and documented differences in short-and long-term effects of being retained in the primary grades. They concluded that some negative effects did not appear until several years after retention, and that most negative effects were amplified over time.…”

“…A critical issue that can only be addressed as more waves of data are collected with the sample is whether these short-term social and academic gains are sustained as repeaters meet new academic challenges. It is well established that retention often has different short-and long-term effects that vary by developmental period (Alexander et al, 2003;Pagani, Tremblay, Vitaro, Boulerice, & McDuff, 2001;Reynolds, 1992). In the most detailed and longest study of the effects of retention in first grade on academic and behavioral outcomes through high school, Alexander et al (2003) found that early-retained children in Baltimore schools were more likely to drop out of school in adolescence, relative to matched promoted children, despite performing better in their classwork than promoted children.…”