From The Hechinger Report:
This article reviews various studies on the effects of passing failing students onto the next grade level or holding them back. Over the past two decades, a growing chorus of critics, including President Obama, has urged schools to end “social promotion,” the practice of passing failing students onto the next grade level. Despite this opposition to social promotion, some studies have shown that retention can have negative effects on students. Others have argued that these studies showing the negative effects of holding students back are not as rigorous as more recent research that suggests that retention does not have an effect on students.
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