Elementary Retention: Elementary Educators' Perception and Experience

Abstract

Over the last century and a half, grade retention, a controversial intervention, has been used as a strategy to improve academic achievement with at-risk students. This study sought to learn about educators’ perceptions of grade retention and how different variables affect faculty members decisions in the retention process. In addition, it sought to find interventions used with at-risk students throughout the academic process. The design used for this research was non-experimental using both quantitative and qualitative data analysis. The data collection instrument was an on-line survey created by the research team using SurveyMonkey. The quantitative and qualitative analysis revealed that elementary educators employed in Northern Indiana public schools supported the use of student grade retention. The findings were in disagreement with results of previous studies.