Meta-analysis of Grade Retention Research: Implications for Practice in the 21st Century

Retaining a child at grade level has become increasingly popular, consistent with the emphasis on accountability and standards in elementary education. This article provides a comprehensive review of the research examining the academic and socioemotional outcomes associated with grade retention. Following a brief historical overview of previously published literature reviews, a summary of studies published between 1990 and 1999 is provided. A systematic review and meta-analysis of 20 recent studies includes: outcome variables (i.e., achievement and socioemotional adjustment), age or grade of retained population, matched or controlled for variables in analyses with comparison groups, and the overall conclusion regarding the efficacy of grade retention. Results of recent studies and this meta-analysis are consistent with past literature reviews from the 1970s and 1980s. In addition to a summary of the results, the discussion addresses the disparity between educational practice and converging research regarding grade retention and suggests directions for practice. This review encourages researchers, educational professionals, and legislators to abandon the debate regarding social promotion and grade retention in favor of a more productive course of action in the new millennium. cial promotion, which many educational professionals interpret as a directive to retain lowachieving students. In addition, educational policies related to legislation aimed at increasing standards and emphasizing accountability are likely to result in increased retention rates (e.g., early elementary grade level reading proficiency tests that must be passed before advancing to the next grade level) (U.S. Department of Education, 1999). Research published between 1900 and 1989 indicated mixed results regarding the efficacy of grade retention on ameliorating children’s socioemotional and achievement needs. Concerns regarding the quality of many past studies of grade retention have been presented in several reviews (Holmes, 1989; Jackson, 1975; Niklason, 1984, 1987; Rose, Medway, Cantrell, & Marus, 1983) and reiterGrade retention is the practice of requiring a student who has been in a given grade level for a full school year to remain at that level for a subsequent school year (Jackson, 1975). Over the past 25 years, grade retention has been revived as a popular, albeit controversial, method of remediating poor academic performance (Abidin, Golladay, & Howerton, 1971; McCoy & Reynolds, 1999; U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, 1966, 1990). It has been estimated that 5 to 10% of students are retained annually in the United States, representing more than 2.4 million children every year (Dawson, 1998a). There is a concern that rates of retention may increase. For example, as “standards” and “accountability” assumed greater emphasis in education, President Clinton (1998, 1999) called for an end to so-