Achieving reading proficiency by the end of third grade is a critical milestone in a student’s academic journey. This benchmark signifies the transition from “learning to read” to “reading to learn,” which is essential for preparing students for more challenging material in later elementary grades and is positively correlated with high school graduation rates. For multilingual students classified as English learners (ML-ELs), reaching this benchmark on time is particularly challenging. According to recent National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results, only 10% of fourth-grade ML-ELs scored Proficient or Advanced in reading, compared to 37% of their non-English learner peers. This disparity reflects the opportunity gaps these students face, including attending underresourced schools, being taught by less-experienced teachers, and having limited access to rigorous instruction. Additionally, ML-ELs are assessed using standardized tests designed for native English speakers, which often fail to consider their unique circumstances and provide effective accommodations.
To address early literacy challenges, many states have implemented third-grade retention policies. These policies aim to provide an extra year for struggling readers to build foundational skills before advancing to more demanding curriculum. However, retention can also have negative emotional and social impacts on students. Research indicates that third-grade retention, when paired with supporting services, has a positive effect on student achievement in the short term, but these advantages often diminish over time. Most studies on third-grade reading retention policies focus on average effects across all students, with limited exploration of the consequences for ML-ELs.
Impact of Third-Grade Retention Policies on ML-ELs
This analysis examines the impact of third-grade retention policies on ML-ELs, a particularly vulnerable student population, and summarizes findings from a study evaluating both short- and long-term outcomes of a third-grade retention policy in Texas. The decision to retain any struggling student in third grade involves a set of tradeoffs, which become more complex for ML-ELs. On one hand, an additional year could serve as a gateway to future learning opportunities, allowing ML-ELs to further develop English fluency, catch up in reading, and attain language reclassification sooner. Retention paired with targeted support, such as small-group tutoring sessions or specialized help from a qualified bilingual educator, may lead to greater academic gains and set them up for accessing rigorous core content in the future. On the other hand, retention separates students from their peers, potentially harming them socially and emotionally. This could lead to further disengagement from school and, because retained students reach the legal age out of compulsory education sooner than promoted students, they are at higher risk of dropping out sooner. This possibility is particularly concerning for ML-ELs, who already graduate from high school at lower rates. Additionally, grade retention may reinforce teachers’ low expectations of ML-ELs, which could translate into tracking them toward a less rigorous curriculum and diminished college and career opportunities after high school.
Texas’ third-grade retention policy, implemented from 2003 to 2009, provides a valuable case study. Texas was an early adopter of a test-based reading retention policy and has a large population of ML-ELs. The policy focused on students who took their third-grade tests between 2003 and 2009. Longitudinal data from the state was used to track students over time and across different state agency records, evaluating outcomes ranging from short-term test score gains to long-term outcomes into young adulthood, such as earnings. Texas’ test-score-based policy enabled a regression discontinuity (RD) approach to estimate the causal effects of grade retention. This design compares students who scored just below to those who scored just above the threshold for grade promotion, providing a quasi-random assignment. However, these estimates are only valid for students whose scores in the reading test are around the threshold and cannot be generalized to a broader population of all ML-ELs. Texas’ retention policy required schools to provide accelerated instruction to students who were retained after failing the state reading test. Schools had flexibility in implementing their accelerated instruction program, but by law, it was required to be in small classes (10 students per teacher) and taught by a certified teacher at least once a week. The results capture the combined effect of retention and additional reading support.
Grade retention plus additional reading support improve short-term outcomes, but the effects fade over time. The third-grade retention policy, which included instructional support for retained students, clearly helped improve all short-term outcomes. For example, marginally retained students scored 0.94 standard deviations higher on their fourth-grade reading test (when they took it one year later than their original classmates). This gain is equivalent to moving from the 14th percentile to the 36th percentile of the test score distribution. By fifth grade, the effect decreased to 0.76 standard deviations. Additionally, marginally retained students were 11 percentage points more likely to be reclassified sometime in grades 4 to 11 than marginally promoted students. Despite these large gains in the short term, the positive effects do not extend to and beyond high school. All long-term outcomes showed no statistically significant differences between marginally retained or promoted students. There was no effect of supplemental services and grade retention on students’ probability of ever graduating from high school, formally dropping out of high school, enrolling in a Texas institute of higher education within three years of expected graduation, or their earnings in their early 20s.
School resources matter for retained students. Additional instructional support can play a critical role in boosting struggling students’ learning opportunities, and this appears to be true for supporting Multilingual English Learners (ML-ELs) as well. Although specific supports offered to retained students are not detailed, information on school expenditures on accelerated instruction supports (e.g., small classes for students who failed the reading test) and on bilingual education is available. A subgroup analysis divided schools into two groups: those with high per-pupil spending in accelerated education or bilingual education and those with low spending on those items. The results showed that the positive effects of retention on reclassification and high school completion were higher in schools that spent more money on these supports. These results suggest that schools’ instructional supports play an important role in continuing to influence the gains for ML-ELs beyond the retention decision alone.
Impacto de la retención en el rendimiento académico
La evidencia indica que la retención en tercer grado, cuando se combina con instrucción de lectura suplementaria, puede mejorar el rendimiento académico en matemáticas y lectura de los estudiantes ML-EL, mientras que también les ayuda a salir del estatus de EL (Estudiante de Inglés) antes. Sin embargo, las decisiones de retención no parecen tener un impacto significativo en los resultados a largo plazo. En consideración a la finding de que el tiempo adicional de aprendizaje beneficia los resultados académicos de los ML-EL, los estados y distritos podrían considerar estrategias que extiendan el tiempo de aprendizaje sin los costos sociales o emocionales de ser retenidos. Por ejemplo, la escuela de verano podría ayudar a prevenir la pérdida de aprendizaje de verano, que es mayor entre los ML-EL. De manera similar, un día escolar extendido con instrucción dirigida para los ML-EL que luchan podría ser una estrategia prometedora. Además, puede haber valor en expandir las intervenciones para los ML-EL. En Texas, los ML-EL que apenas pasaron la prueba de lectura no recibieron servicios suplementarios, pero probablemente podrían haberse beneficiado de ellos también.
Investigación y estrategias para apoyar a los ML-EL
El aumento de la inversión en educación bilingüe y programas de remedio puede proporcionar apoyo sostenido para todos los estudiantes ML-EL y ayudarlos a cerrar las brechas de oportunidad de manera más efectiva. Los resultados sugieren que las escuelas que invierten más en apoyo instruccional pueden tener un impacto positivo en los resultados de los estudiantes ML-EL. Es importante considerar estrategias que extiendan el tiempo de aprendizaje sin los costos sociales o emocionales de ser retenidos. La escuela de verano, un día escolar extendido con instrucción dirigida y la expansión de intervenciones para los ML-EL pueden ser estrategias prometedoras para apoyar a estos estudiantes.
