Pros and Cons of Retention

     Retaining a student, or holding them back, has its pros and cons just like social promotion.  It allows students an opportunity to better learn the material they may not have understood the first time.  However, it separates them from their peers.  Again the most important thing to consider is whether the benefits of retaining a child outweighs the negative effects.
     Researchers say that the main reasons to consider retaining a child are:  if the student is having major difficulties in math, reading, or writing; is unable to reach the academic level required to be promoted to the next grade; or the student seems immature for his or her age.  By retaining a student it will give him or her the opportunity to go through the material again and potentially better learn it.  It will also give him or her another year to catch up maturity wise.  Retention is best accepted in the lower grades, such as kindergarten and first grade.  Students in these grades appear to face the least negative side effects of retention.  Retention is more likely to be even more successful if the retained students are given extra help in the areas they are struggling with, instead of just facing the exact same situation as the year before.
     Retention does have several negative consequences.  Retained students are often those who show behavioral problems and typically are the ones most likely to drop out later in school.  Academic achievement of retained students is typically poorer than their peers who were promoted.  Any gains that may occur often vanish if the student is retained more than two grade levels.  Being retained does negatively affect many students self esteem by separating them from their peers, creating a lowered feeling of self worth.
     Like social promotion, retention has a list of negative effects.  It also has its benefits.  What I've observed is that it is very situational as to what will work best.  For younger students, such as those in kindergarten and first grade, retention has many positive outcomes.  However, when older students are retained behavioral problems typically occur.  Social promotion has the potential to work depending on the type of students the student in question is surrounded by.  If the student is surrounded by those who strive to succeed academically, then he or she will most likely also try to do so as well.  However, if the student is surrounded by those uninterested in learning and who do not want to put forth any effort in school, he or she will most likely also have that attitude and not try.  As I said earlier, it is very situational as to which method will work best.  All aspects of the student's life should be taken into account before deciding whether to retain or promote a student who is struggling.