LOCALIZE IT: Students repeat grades in growing numbers
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One of the most pressing questions in education is how to best make up for the learning students missed out on early in the pandemic. Many parents, empowered by new pandemic-era laws, have asked for do-overs: Their kids are repeating a grade.
The vast of majority of states that provided data requested by The Associated Press reported increases in students held back for the last school year, as reported in a story published Thursday.
Here is a guide to help localize your coverage, including a link to the spreadsheet with the information provided by state governments.
THE BACKGROUND:
The COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on children's schooling made retention a more appealing option for some parents, but it remains a controversial practice.
Research completed before the pandemic showed students who were held back were at higher risk of dropping out of school. It also can cause social stigma for children, or make them feel as though as they are being punished, experts say.
Still, some have argued it's an option that should be open to families now — especially in the wake of the unplanned mass experiment with remote learning, in which many students struggled to stay engaged or logged off entirely. States including California, Florida, New Jersey and Pennsylvania passed laws that made it easier for parents to demand their children repeat a grade.
THE DATA:
The AP asked all 50 states to share data on the number of students repeating grades in each of the last three school years. Their responses, which are available for publication, are listed in this spreadsheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1sRHVs46iOcWPDPb9KxQ1drpwHF4tqubJOq0Bc254TTY/edit#gid=0
The number of kids held back for the last school year, 2021-2022, saw wide increases. Twenty-four of the 28 states that provided data for those years showed an increase, including some that saw the number double.
Several states saw significant jumps in retention between the first year affected by the pandemic and the following. Mississippi’s data, for instance, more than doubled between the 2019-20 and 2020-21 academic years, and moderately increased last school year. Other states saw retention fall in the first full year with COVID-19, only to increase — significantly, in some cases — last year.
States do not collect retention data in a uniform way. Of all states canvassed — plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico — 10 respondents said their states don’t collect statewide data. Another 10 did not have data for the 2021-22 school year available yet. Four others did not send data by publication time.
LOCALIZING TIPS:
— How many students have been held back in your local school district? States including Pennsylvania, Florida, California and New Jersey passed laws giving parents more say on having their children repeat a grade. Districts in those states could provide breakdowns of how students were held back on a family’s request.
— What kind of debates around grade retention have been prompted by the pandemic in your local area? Did lawmakers propose legislation to make it easier for parents to ask for students to be held back? Have families been vocal about asking for more say over whether their children repeat a grade?
— What approaches have been developed by your local school systems to help catch up students who feel like they are far behind? Some experts say holding students back is an extreme option. Do local educators feel like they have successful strategies to support struggling students even if they are promoted?
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For more back-to-school coverage, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/back-to-school
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Localize It is an occasional feature produced by The Associated Press for its customers’ use. The Associated Press education team receives support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The AP is solely responsible for all content.