-retention+and+reading+comprehension

By Donna, Monique and Rachel
 * TEAM PROJECT: EDC 529: SUMMER 2007**
 * Correlations between retention and reading comprehension scores in the primary grades in urban areas.**


 * Introduction:** Projections of the future shifts in demographics of the U.S.A., in addition to the Educational Reform Movements, implore researchers to take a deeper look at the debate over "Social Promotion" versus retention. This is a very public issue with many people still associating retention with "failure". It is viewed by some as failure of the student, teacher and school system. The question that needs to be answered is: Does the benefit of retention outweigh the risks?


 * Research Question**: Is there a statistically significant difference in reading comprehension scores, as measured by the W.R.M.T., between primary students in urban areas who were retained a grade as opposed to those who were socially promoted?


 * Independent variable:** Retention of the student for one grade.


 * Dependent variable:** Increase in reading comprehension scores.


 * Hypotheses:**
 * Null Hypothesis:** There will be no statistically significant difference in reading comprehension scores between those primary students in urban areas who were retained one grade and those who were not.
 * Directional Hypothesis**: Primary grade students in urban areas who have been retained one grade will show a significant increase in reading comprehension scores compared to those students who were not retained.


 * Lit Review:**

In recent years, much debate has centered around the issue of student retention, or repetition of a grade. The issue has been getting more attention as a result of the increased focus on national standards in education. The creation of these standards has been a direct result of research such The National Reading Panel Report of the Subgroups (2000), and legislation such as the No Child Left Behind Act (January 8,2002), and subsequent studies and publications such as The Reading First Initiative (2001). In a standards-based curriculum, instruction and assessment focus on the skills, strategies and content knowledge a student should be able to demonstrate at each grade level. Administrators are now struggling with what to do with a child that does not meet these standards. One option is to retain the student. Another option is to allow the child to move forward onto the next grade, a process called social promotion, despite having failed to meet these standards. While the purpose of standards may be negated if students are allowed to continue on, (regardless of whether these standards have been met) studies of the alternative, retention, yield mixed results. When compared to their socially promoted counterparts, students in many studies either failed to make any significant gains, or those gains did not hold out over time (Frey, 2005; Jimmerson, Carlson, Rotert, Egeland & Stroufe, 1997; Karweit, 1999). In a study conducted by an organization called the Minnesota Mother-Child Interaction Project (Jimmerson, Carlson, Rotert, Egeland & Stroufe, 1997), students who were retained once during their primary years (K--3) made gains in math achievement, but those gains were lost by sixth grade. Was the loss of these gains due to the ineffectiveness of retention, or would these at-risk students have preformed even //more// poorly in the sixth grade had they not been retained earlier? These are questions that need to be answered. Because retention has also been found to be very expensive, and as many conclude, ineffective, many point to research that suggests that this practice be done away with. It is argued that, if retention results in little chance of improving achievement (Smith, 2004; McCoy Reynolds, 1999), there is no reason to waste money providing children with an extra year of instruction, as this results in costs due to materials, human resources, and environmental resources. In addition to difficulties with academic gains in relation to retention, many researchers have concluded that students who have been retained demonstrate greater degrees of emotional difficulties. A major study on the effects of retention by CRESPAR, from 1991-1994, using nationally representative data, showed that repeating a grade did nothing to help retained students catch up to their peers. The study found that retention had a negative effect on motivating the learner. 87% of the children interviewed reported that being retained made them feel "sad," "bad," "upset," or "embarrassed". It can be stressful and stigmatizing.(NASBE, 2000) Other studies, such as the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health in 1997 (Resnick et al., 1997) determined that there is a strong relationaship between retention and students' emotional stress and tobacco use, as determined by the use of survey results of seventh to twelfth-grade students. While these conclusions might suggest that retention is useless, if not detrimental, a closer look at the available studies shows patterns in the research which reveal gaps that could be filled by further research. While the majority of the current studies do yield some negative or neutral results, it the feeling of these authors that it is important to focus especially on primary aged children who are retained, rather than include students who are retained at other points during their academic careers. In this way, issues that may not have been fully addressed previously may begin to reveal some insight in regards to the retention process. For instance, it is possible that there may be a direct relationship between the level of emotional difficulties and how much time in a student's academic career had passed before retention was used as a tool. Likewise, there may also be a direct relationship between early retention and academic gains. One study that began to address these questions looked at 800 Baltimore children who were studied from first through eighth grade. The program began in 1982 with random selection of groups. The study looked at reasons for retention and their consequences. First grade repeaters made significant gains in reading comprehension at a ratio of 1.73 which is more than double of most other groups, including the group that was never retained. Another positive finding was for third grade repeaters who had cummulative gains in reading scores which remained just as high throughout 7th grade as compared to the sample of never retained youngsters. The results also found no emotional effects like those noted in other retention studies (Alexander, Entwisle & Dauber, 1994) Another study that took place in Wake County looked at retention rates of students in grades K-8. Students were assessed by an End-of-Grade (EOG) test and the State Board of Education’s Student Accountability Standards. The study looked at different factors that contributed to the retention of their students like race, gender, and whether students were eligible for free or reduced lunch. They implemented two ways to help students avoid retention which was a summer academy and monitored progress of low performing students allowing them to retake the EOG test if failed the first time taken. The study concluded that the higher the grade level increased then the promotion rates increased as well. They also found that the highest rates of retention were in grades K-2 and that overall retaining students in primary grades are more effective than not retaining them. Emotional effects of students retained were not considered through out this study. (Kaase 2002)s One of the most important tools effecting academic success is reading success, as reading is intrinsically tied into all other subject matter. In fact, studies have shown that a student who falls behind in reading continues to fall further and further behind in reading over the years (Stanovich, 1986). Because reading is so closely tied into all other areas of academics, the authors of this study hypothesize that primary students who are retained early in their careers, and who receive appropriate reading instruction once retained, will prove to benefit more from repeating a grade than students of other types, and therefore result in more positive results thatn those gained through some of the other studies mentioned. In addition to expectant academic gains, some of the emotional factors may also be avoided. As the confidence gained by making progress in reading may translate into greater success in other content areas, they cancel out the stigma attached to having to “stay back”.

The sample included 200 primary aged students (K-3), who were chosen by convenience because they attend schools in the ABC School District. This district included schools that followed the 2 methods of handling students who did not meet the grade level standards for reading by the end of the academic year: retaining, and socially promoting. These two groups were studied using the following research format:
 * Sample:**

OXO OCO X = the group receiving the treatment which is retention of one grade C= the control group which is being socially promoted to the next grade O= the measurement which is the test for reading comprehension= W.R.M.T. This test is delivered first to ascertain the reading level before the study in order to find which children are below the standard. Then the test is used again after the school year has been completed to test for the differences.
 * 100 students who did not meet the reading standards and were retained. (treatmenet group)
 * 100 students who did not meet the reading standards who were socially promoted to the next grade (control group).

The sample groups were made up of equivalent students, with an equal number of boys and girls in each group, and with those students equally representing the ethnic and SES make-up of the district as a whole.

This is a quantitative study using the W.R.M.T. as the instrument. Based on the data provided, our group was able to ascertain which students were performing below the standard, regardless of whether they had been socially promoted or retained. A post test was also given after a full academic school year to determine if the students who were retained showed statistically significant growth as compared to the socially promoted students.
 * Data Collection:**

A t-test was used to compare the pre and post test results to determine if there is a statistically significant difference between the retained group and the socially promoted group.
 * Data Analysis:**

One threat to internal validity is sampling error related to the use of a convenience sample. This study did not allow us to use random sampling. The groups were not randomly assigned which causes a threat of selection as well. The test administered is reliable since it is the same standard test given to all the students. The potential threat to external validity was reduced by avoiding the Hawthorne Effect by the use of unobtrusive testing.
 * Validity and Reliability:**


 * Strengths:** We can reduce the external threat to the validity of our study since the same standardized tests were administered to students involved in the study. Therefore, there was no way for us to manipulate the results in our favor. The use of a control group helped to reduce the chance of maturation as a threat since both groups will grow at similiar rates. Having a control group also lessens the potential threat of history.

Because this is a quantitative research model, information about the existing supports for the students is ambiguous. If this were a qualitative study, interviews with parents, students and teachers would reveal information regarding other contributing factors such as: availability of reading material in the home, the degree to which parents assist students in their learning outside of school hours, and the degree of parents involvement in school activities in general. In addition, issues such as motivation, homework completion and other elements of academic performance could be taken into account.
 * Weakness:**

Mortality is also considered as a weakness because some students might have to move and change schools, therefore our results could be affected. Selection is also a factor to consider as a weakness because our sample isn't random, it's convenient so our results could turn out the same due to another factor. The small size of sample is another weakness of the study. Also the small geographical area studied may be a weakness and inhibit the generalizibity of the results.

Testing could be considered a weakness, as exposure to the pretest may result in better performance on the post-test due to familiarity with the testing structure. This is lessened, however, by the fact that both groups are exposed to the pre-test, resulting in relatively equal growth as a result of this factor.

Alexander K., Entwisle D. and Dauber S.(1994) __On The Success of Failure__, Cambridge University Press, 1994.(pp. 54-58,75-77,84-85, 87-89,126-131)
 * References**

Jimmerson, S., Carlson, E., Rotert, M. Egeland, B., & Stroufe, L.A. (1997). A prospective, longitudinal study of the correlates and consequences of early grade retention. //Journal of School Psychology//, 35, 3-25.

Karweit, N.L. (1999). //Grade retention: Prevalence, timing, and effects.// Technical Report, Center for Research on the Education of Students Placed at Risk. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University. McCoy, A.R., & Reynolds, A.J. (1999) Grade retention and performance: An extended investigation. //Journal of School Psychology, 37, 273-298.//

Kaase, Kristopher. (2002) //Promotion/Retention of students in Grades K-8 E&R Report.// Wake County Public School System, Releigh, N.C. Dept. of Evaluatio and Research. 35, 1-35.

N.A.S.B.E.(2000) "Failure is Not an Option: The Next Stage of Education Reform, October 2000" (pp. 1-56)

Resnick, M.D., Bearman, P.S., Blum, R. W., Bauman, K.E., Harris, K.M., Jones, J., et al. (1997). Protecting Adolescents from harm: Findings from the national longitudinal study on adolescent health. //Journal of the American Medical Association,// 278, 823-832.

Frey, N. (2005). Retention, social promotion, and academic redshirting: What do we know and what do we need to know? //Remedial and Special Education//, 26, 332-346.

Smith, M.L.(2004) "Retaining Students in Grade: Consequences for Florida" April 2004.(pp.1-10)

Smith, M.L.& Shepard, L.A. Kindergarten readiness and retention: A Qualitative study of teachers' beliefs and practices. //American Educational Research Journal//, 25, 307-333.

Stanovich, K.E. (1986). Mathew effects in reading: Some consequences of individual differences in the acquisition of literacy. //Reading Research Quarterly//, 21, 360-407.

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (2000). //Report of the National Reading Panel. Teaching Children to Read: An Evidence-based Assessment of the Scientific Research Literature on Reading and its Implications for Reading Instruction//(NIH Publication No. 00-4769). Washington, DC: U.S> Government Printing Office. Donna: I found wikispace convenient and fun. Rachel: Using wikispaces was a huge help! Especially near the end of the academic year as a teacher/parent! Virtual meetings are far more convenient as we don't all "attend" at the same time. I was a little frustrated by the limitations of "cut and paste" and the lack of a spell check and A-Z feature, but I'm guessing that will be added by the programmer soon. I also liked the history page so we could leave notes for one another and determine who had made what changes. Monique: I found Wikispaces very easy to use. It was helpful to be able to see how past groups had done projects to use as an example for ours. It is something that I wouldn't mind using again and would recommend to others.
 * Distribution of Duties:** All three of us worked collaboratively on this project. We each contributed to the literature review. We met before class to discuss the details of the research components and each had input with all aspects of the finished product.

Prposal grade = A (Pete Adamy)**
 * 6/26/07: Nicely done. I think this would make a very interesting study on retention, with potentially high validity.