Hi Juliana, Research on retention reveals that while retaining kids may have a positive effect in the short term (the following year of school, maybe) there are no positive long term effects. In fact, many children end up dropping out of school later on. I do not believe in retention and I know this is not a popular viewpoint. My school board, the Calgary Board of Education, has a no retention policy. Instead, children who are having difficulties with grade level curriculum are placed on an IPP but stay with their peers. This is the first time I've worked anywhere with this policy in place and they do it based on the research on retention. Yes, it makes it difficult for teachers when they have kids on various levels in one classroom. But, isn't this the case anyway? We still have to modify curriculum for kids who are not "at level", whatever that means, so why not pay attention to the overwhelming research and do something different so we can get different results? Also, remember not all kids learn the same thing at the same rate in the same way. Thanks for asking the question, Elisa Waingort Calgary, Alberta Hello,
Here is my question. "I'm a pre-service teacher at Wayne State University. I will be doing my student teaching in the Winter, and I am curious about the number of student's being passed on to the next grade level without being fluent readers. Why are so many kids being pushed through to the next grade in spite of not being capable of the material? Does this do the child a disservice in the long run or is it better for the child to remain with his peers?" Thanks, Juliana
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