Latest News and Comment from Education

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

UGA researcher: Our choices are not only retention or social... | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com

UGA researcher: Our choices are not only retention or social... | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com:

UGA researcher: Our choices are not only retention or social promotion 


Amy Reschly is an associate professor of educational psychology and director of the School Psychology Program at the University of Georgia.
I asked her to write a piece based on her recent academic paper with Sandra Christenson, "Grade Retention: Historical Perspectives and New Research," published in the Journal of School Psychology. Additional information about grade retention and social promotion, including a summary of research, may be found at the National Association of School Psychologists website:
 By Amy Reschly
Many students will begin the new academic year in the same grade they did last year. This practice, known as grade retention, remains stubbornly and paradoxically common, despite clear results regarding the ineffectiveness of this approach to remediate students’ academic deficiencies and the high costs associated with it.
The enduring popularity of grade retention is an interesting example of how poorly research, politics, and policy can