What is Grade Retention

This chapter explores the transitional practice of voluntarily delaying a student's kindergarten entry through a combination of reviewing prior literature and also presenting new research findings. Using data from a large, predominantly low-income and ethnically diverse sample, the authors examine early elementary school outcomes for a group of children (n = 305) who delayed kindergarten entry in comparison to their on-time peers. Results indicate that children who delay kindergarten entry slightly outperform their peers in the kindergarten year, but these differences disappear by the end of 1st grade. Results were similar for students with disabilities. Overall, delaying kindergarten entry did not seem to provide sustained academic advantages for this sample of students. Implications for delaying kindergarten entry are discussed.