Few US students ever repeat a grade but that could change due to COVID-19
- Written by Pamela Davis-Kean, Professor of Psychology, University of Michigan
With in-person instruction becoming the exception rather than the norm, 54% of parents[1] with school-age children expressed concern that their children could fall behind academically, according to a poll conducted over the summer of 2020. Initial projections from the Northwest Evaluation Association[2], which conducts research and creates commonly used standardized tests, suggest that these fears are well-grounded, especially for children from low-income families.
Based on the association’s findings and my own research regarding academic achievement and socioeconomic status[3], I believe it’s likely, based on these early projections, that the widespread and rapid switch to remote schooling will have negative long-term academic consequences.
One possibility is that the share of students who end up repeating at least one grade at some point could rise due to this unprecedented disruption.
According to government data collected in 2018, only about 6% of U.S. students[4] had to repeat a grade[5] before graduating from high school prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
References
- ^ 54% of parents (www.pewresearch.org)
- ^ projections from the Northwest Evaluation Association (www.nwea.org)
- ^ regarding academic achievement and socioeconomic status (scholar.google.com)
- ^ 6% of U.S. students (datacenter.kidscount.org)
- ^ had to repeat a grade (smhp.psych.ucla.edu)
- ^ No Child Left Behind Act (www2.ed.gov)
- ^ federal legislation, combined with research (www.fcd-us.org)
- ^ fared better when they repeated a grade (doi.org)
- ^ 16 states have enacted laws (www.ncsl.org)
- ^ proficient on standardized reading tests (hermes.cde.state.co.us)
- ^ state laws vary (www.ncsl.org)
- ^ Florida (www.flsenate.gov)
- ^ Minnesota (www.revisor.mn.gov)
- ^ economic hardship (doi.org)
- ^ stigmatized and less motivated to learn (hermes.cde.state.co.us)
- ^ Sign up for The Conversation’s daily newsletter (theconversation.com)
Authors: Pamela Davis-Kean, Professor of Psychology, University of Michigan