Altrnative to Grade Retention

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Alternative to Retention Student Name Institutional Affiliation Date Grade retention refers to an educational decision that requires a student who has failed a high-stake test to repeat an academic year in school. Reports have demonstrated that a greater number of student are still being required to repeat despite the introduction of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). This intervention method aims at helping students who struggle to succeed academically. Grade retention has been attributed to the improvement of students during the year the students are retained although this declines with time after they have proceeded to the other grades. However, despite of significantly improving the students’ performance, this intervention method has been reported to cause more harm than good. Retained children have consistently been found to display and develop a more negative attitude towards school and their school attendance deteriorate. Grade retention is also reported not only to affect the students’ academic life but their social lives as well, most sixth graders equates this intervention with the stress experienced from losing a parent (Jimerson, 2001). Citing these shortcomings, there is need to explore other intervention alternatives that promotes both the academic and the social welfare of the student. This article will focus on Looping and Multiage classrooms as an alternative intervention to retention. Looping refers to the practice that involves a teacher staying with the same group of students for a period exceeding two years. The most common model of looping involves two teachers who team up with one of the teachers teaching the lower grade while the other teacher the subsequent grade. For example, the third and the second grade teacher may team up where at the
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