ERIC Number: ED365736
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1993-May
Pages: 100
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
The State Report on Grade Level Retention of Students as of October 1992. A Report from the State Board of Education, Submitted to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker, and the Seventy-Third Texas Legislature.
Texas Education Agency, Austin.
As mandated by state law, the Texas Education Agency presents a summary of data relating to grade-level retention of students reported by grade, ethnicity, and gender. The reported total number of students who repeated a grade in Texas schools in 1992-93 was 118,888. An additional 3,243 students, or 1.24% of the first grade, were placed in transitional programs instead of regular first grade. Hispanic and African American students were retained two to three times more often than white students. Sixty-three percent of retained students were male. Most retentions occurred at the ninth grade, with 12.5% (32,785 students) repeating the grade. Among the reasons given for retention, having a grade average less than 70% constituted half of the responses. Reported numbers may actually underrepresent the extent of retentions, and the rate may be as high as 5% of all students. It appears that retention in grade does not help most students, and that retention is an expensive and ineffective attempt to solve the challenges presented by students who require alternative instructional strategies and support systems to be successful in school. Eleven tables and seven figures present retention data. Appendices contain: (1) a chronology of legislation; (2) methodology explanation; (3) indicator codes; (4) an explanation of one code; (5) actual data; and (6) category descriptions. (SLD)
Descriptors: Academic Failure, Age Differences, Dropout Rate, Educational Trends, Elementary School Students, Elementary Secondary Education, Ethnic Groups, Grade Repetition, Low Achievement, Policy Formation, Secondary School Students, Sex Differences, State Legislation, State Programs, Student Promotion, Tables (Data), Transitional Programs, Underachievement
Publications Distribution Office, Texas Education Agency, 1701 North Congress Avenue, Austin, TX 78701-1494 ($2).
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Numerical/Quantitative Data
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Texas Education Agency, Austin.
Identifiers - Location: Texas
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A