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)