Debates about grade retention weigh the academic benefits of remediation against its social and psychological costs. Louisiana adopted a retention policy aimed at capturing these benefits while mitigating the harm. It used test score thresholds to distinguish between retention in grade 8, promotion to grade 9, and a grade "8.5" where students would move with their peers to high school (social promotion) but receive 8th grade instruction once there (academic remediation). We use regression discontinuity designs to assess the effects of receiving these placements. By linking students' K-12 and higher education records, we examine educational attainment through high school and college. We find that more retention-oriented placements result in substantially lower educational attainment at each margin: grade 8 versus 8.5, 8.5 versus 9, and 8 versus 9. This suggests negative effects from both grade retention and academic remediation when administered in high school. Notably, these effects extend beyond high school to college enrollment. They do not appear to extend to college persistence or graduation.