School Retention and Reading Intervention in Early Elementary School

The last few years have seen an increase of attention concerning academic accountability and the emphasis on social promotion. The U. S. Department of Education (1999) reported, “Neither social promotion or holding kids back without help is a successful strategy for improving learning” (p. 4). This push for change has set into motion the question, does retention in the early years account for substantial academic development? “Efficiency of instruction is important for all children and critical for children at risk for reading failure, who may have more to learn in less time than their peers” (Musti-Rao & Cartledge, 2007, p.13). The “wait-to-fail” approach, give students no special interventions until after a substantial period of academic failure, is not a viable option for students. The Response to Intervention Model helps teachers anticipate potential learning problems for early interventions (Musti- Rao & Cartledge, 2007, p. 3). There is a plethora of research on these topics as school districts and teachers consider the well-being including educational success of their students. The researcher, reviewed current literature, which addressed the topics of school retention and reading intervention in early elementary school.
The literature review research and articles ranged in dates from 1995 to 2013. These articles are composed of over 50 studies, with the results being compared and evaluated over a vast time. The researchers examined the students’ permanent school records, documented the students’ gender, socioeconomic status, grade retained or intervened, teacher assigned grades, reading and mathematics, and the students’ standardized test scores (Rust & Wallace, 1993). Grade appropriate standardized test...

... middle of paper ...

...d growth: A meta-analysis of assessment data for individual students.” Psychology in the schools 49(4), 385-398. Retrieved from www.web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.cu-portland.
Silberglitt, B., Jimerson, S. and Burns, M. (2006). “Does the timing of grade retention make a difference? Examining the effects of early versus later retention.” School psychology review35(1), 134-141. Retrieved from: http://web.ebscohost.com.ezpoxy.cu-portland.edu/ehost/delivery?sid
U.S. Department of Education (1999). Taking responsibility for ending social promotion: A guide for educators and state and local leaders. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.
Wilson, V. and Hughes, J. (2010). “Who is retained in first grade? A psychosocial perspective.”
Elementary School Journal, 109(3), 251-266. Retrieved from:
http://web.ebscohost.com.ezpoxy.cu-portland.edu/ehost/delivery?sid