by James Dreyer

Created on: March 01, 2010

There may come a time in one’s role as a parent that a decision will have to be made as to whether or not a child should repeat a grade.  Many parents face this decision with fear and trepidation.  It shouldn’t be that way.  Retention of a child in a grade level is a part of the educational process and parents, as well as the students involved, should not feel that he or she is a failure.  There are several factors that influence a child’s progress at school and all should be considered before deciding whether a child should repeat a grade.

First and foremost, who is considering retaining the child and why?  Is it the parent’s idea or the schools?  Perhaps it is both.  In most cases, it will be the school, or the teacher, who actually recommends that a child retained.  This is usually based on the child’s grades.  Most schools have a policy in place that will dictate when a child should be retained.  This policy will usually contain a minimum average in the core subject areas that each child is expected to attain.  If a child’s grade is below this average in the core content areas then beginning the retention procedure may be automatic.

It is possible, too, that the grade expectations of the parent have not been met and he or she may request retention at that time.  If the child’s grades do not meet the school’s requirement for advancement to the next grade then there is no problem; the retention can occur.  When the child’s grades are high enough to allow the child to be promoted to the next grade, though, the parent, teacher, and administration must work together to determine whether retention is a good idea or not.

If the child’s grades are not what they should be and retention may be in order, it is always a good idea to try and determine why the grades are below average.  One major factor for some students is attendance.  A child with excessive absences at school will not usually perform as well as his or her peers.  Learning is a stepping stone procedure.  We learn one thing in order to learn something else.  Everything is dependant one upon the other, and excessive absences causes gaps, which in turn may result in lower grades and lack of progress.  If attendance appears to be the reason for the low grades there may be alternatives to consider other than retention.

Is this a special needs child with

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