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 When my son was four, I enrolled him in kindergarten at our local public school in Temecula, where classes started in mid-August. My son’s birthday is in September, and I was surprised to find that several other students in his class were a full year older than my son. My husband and I didn’t realize that many parents today start their children in kindergarten when they are five or, in many cases, close to six. My son did well in school academically despite being the youngest boy in his class of 20 students (only one girl was younger). Still, my husband and I grew concerned that we had placed our son on an uneven educational playing field, and that it would remain uneven every year until he graduated from high school and went to college at 17. He’d be a year younger and less mature than most of his classmates. In middle school, girls might tower over him; older boys would bully him. In high school, he would have his driver’s license later than his friends. There were a host of factors to consider.  We decided to have our son repeat kindergarten the next year. It turns out we had plenty of company. Nationally, there are no statistics kept on retention, but estimates based on census data suggest that as many as one-third of students have been retained at least once by the time they reach high school, according to a retention research and policy report by the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC), an online digital library of research sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. Whether or not to retain a child in a grade level due to academic, behavior or maturity concerns is a major issue for parents and teachers. Advocates say retention sends a message that poor performance in school won’t be rewarded, and students won’t be placed in grades where they cannot do the work. Proponents also argue that if a child is failing, an extra year of instruction should help. Opponents say retention discourages students’ motivation, hurts their self-esteem and rarely leads to higher academic performance. Early intervention – not retention – should be the goal. NEXT PAGE >>> |
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Retention was just a concern that my daughter faced with my grandson. His kindergarten teacher felt he should be retained because of "struggling" with his academics. On the other hand his teacher has told us that he is the best behaved student that she has ever had. His organizational skills and maturity level is excellent even though he won't be six years old until July 23rd. The school held a collaborative meeting to which I was invited also. Although the teacher encouraged retention, my daughter and son-in-law opted to have him go on to first grade. He spends a lot of time with me and I was asked how I felt. I agreed with him not being retained. I am a retired school librarian and having researched the subject of retention, I have found more studies that have proved it doesn't work for most students. Especially when it would effect them emotionally as I am sure that it would with my grandson who is strong in so many other areas of maturity. Also there is a 10 year old sister who is a very high acheiver and it would emotionally devastate my grandson to be held back. He kept saying how he will "go into first grade, then second....... ". Studies have shown that while retention may help initially, down the road that it seems to discourage promotion at higher grade levels. I think that every individual child needs to be carefully evaluated. Retention is not an answer to most students. Early intervention seems to be the important factor in evaluation. It is my opinion after being in the educational system for years that there is too much emphasis on the "test scores" and not looking at the student abilities as a whole person! I would have hated to see this smiley faced little grandchild of mine leave his last day of kindergarten today crying and feeling as though he failed when he had excelled in behavior and other important life skills!
| Comment at 6/5/2009 |
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