According to Benjamin Franklin, the proper education of the youth should always be the most important social policy (Hochschild, Scovronick, & Scovronick, 2003). Education is an important element in the development of humankind, which is why schools have been established as special places with a particular purpose of providing a venue for learning and to be subjected under the guidance of teachers (Dearden, 2012). However, in the case of American education, public schools have become not just a place of learning, but have also become a government institution wherein decisions regarding education are formulated in a political venue. In this sense, the primary goal of primary schools is also affected by conflicts in terms of policy and implementation. Thus, public schools are often centers for changing educational policies that may or may not aid teachers and students to achieve learning (Dearden, 2012). School districts in the United States currently require students to pass assessments prior to progressing to the subsequent grade level. If students are not able to pass, then they are retained in their current grade level. This policy is commonly referred to as the mandatory retention policy (Hong & Raudenbush, 2005). In the state of Florida, the policy started in 2003. The rationale of the above policy is to ensure that students are not promoted to the next grade in the event that they are incapable of proving the fundamental skills assessed in educational examinations. This is contrast to another form of policy called social promotion where students with failing grades are permitted to move on the next grade level but are required to attend remedial classes (Brophy, 2006). In recent years, a number of studies have been conducted on the effectiveness of the policy and has gained a range of positive results in terms of academic achievement and dropout rates (Weissberg, 2010; Stone & Engel, 2007; Lorence & Dworkin, 2006; Dong, 2010). Despite empirical studies confirming the positive effects of mandatory retention on academic achievement among students (Weissberg, 2010; Stone & Engel, 2007; Lorence & Dworkin, 2006; Dong, 2010), the policy has been faced with a number of issues and challenges. Because failed students are not permitted to move on to the next grade resulting to an extension of the number of years they have to stay in elementary, the mandatory retention policy has continued to generate controversy, in that several schools and parents have failed to reach a consensus on whether a student who fails in their educational examinations should be retained (Lunenburg & Ornstein, 2012). Several studies have concluded that retention does not necessarily facilitate improvement in the case of a students inability to demonstrate the requisite educational skills (Stone, Engel, Nagaoka, & Roderick, 2005; Roderick & Nagaoka, 2005; Jimerson, Anderson, & Whipple, 2002; Neild, 2009). Additionally, ODonnell and Reeve (2009) stated that retention is considered to be retrogressive since in most cases it could prove more detrimental than beneficial. Some of these repercussions even have the risk of affecting the students beyond their repeated year. On the other hand, teachers, parents, and politicians have criticized social promotion just the same (Frey, 2005). In order to address the issues regarding poor academic achievement among students, the United States government responded with a different strategy, which has resulted in the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001. NCLB was established to hold school districts accountable for their students success. It recommended mandatory retention for students who failed to clear a few specified tests in key subjects. Although empirical efforts have been initiated to generate evidence-based research that will determine the best strategies for assisting students with poor academic standing, findings have been inconsistent (Stone, Engel, Nagaoka, & Roderick, 2005; Roderick & Nagaoka, 2005; Stone & Engel, 2007; Lorence & Dworkin, 2006). Because of conflicting findings, more research appears to be needed in order to investigate the effectiveness of various school policies on the achievement of various educational goals among public schools. Across the United States, all school districts require their students to pass standardized academic assessments before they are able to proceed to the next grade level. At present, Floridas public schools, including public schools in the county where the study will take place, measure academic achievement using the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) along with their grades. As an intervention for those students who were not able to pass the assessments, the state of Florida implemented the mandatory retention program which started implementation among 3rd grade students in 2003. This is under the rationale that students who failed the assessments should be retained until they become proficient in grade-level curriculum and ready to proceed to the next grade level (Hong & Raudenbush, 2005). However, many studies conducted on the effect of retention policies on academic achievement have used various types of assessment, which may not be equally measure academic achievement in all states in the country. Also, despite the availability of archived data in terms of academic achievement, graduation rates, and dropout rates in the Florida State, empirical data appears to be lacking in terms of the effects of the mandatory retention policy on academic achievement, graduation, and dropout rates using statistical testing. Empirical studies conducted on the effects of retention on the said variables appear to produce contradicting and inconsistent findings, which make it hard to establish future actions in the development of education in the district (Weissberg, 2010; Stone & Engel, 2007; Lorence & Dworkin, 2006; Dong, 2010; Stone, Engel, Nagaoka, & Roderick, 2005; Roderick & Nagaoka, 2005; Jimerson, Anderson, & Whipple, 2002; Neild, 2009). While the Florida Department of Education has produced a steady flow of information, no school-based empirical studies have ever been conducted on the outcomes of the mandatory retention policies implemented by the Department (Florida Department of Education, 2014). The data presented by the Department from before the implementation of the mandatory retention policy and after its implementation does not appear to be conclusive with regards to the effects of the policy as no statistical studies have been conducted(Florida Department of Education, 2014). Much of the data have focused on archival data to the extent that no further analysis was conducted to determine statistical trends that may lead to possible effects and relationships between the policy and school outcomes. There are also no local data available that will show any deeper analysis which evaluates the effectiveness of retention in the county in central Florida. Because of this, it is apparent that a problem in clearly determining the effects of mandatory retention policies on academic achievement and graduation rates in the district is salient. Therefore, this study intends to investigate the effects of mandatory grade retention on the academic achievement and graduation rates by statistically comparing data from before and after the policy was implemented in the county in central Florida in 2003. The topic. Academic achievement is one of the main measures of learning and education. In the classroom, not all students are able to achieve and progress in the same way. If this is not addressed, students may underperform when they are assessed which hinders them from graduating. It is for this reason why mandatory retention has been introduced(Ehmke, Drechsel, & Carstensen, Effects of grade retention on achievement and sellf-concept in science and mathematics, 2010). The graduation rates in the United States do not compare very favorably with several other nations of the world. Thirty percent of U.S. high school graduates do not proceed to college after graduation (Cookson, 2011). Table 1 shows the numbers of students from Grade 6 to Grade 12 not promoted in the last decade. Table 1. Florida Non-promotions, Grades 6-12 (2010-2013). School Year Grade 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 2010-2011 3,607 4,787 5,139 13,310 13,327 12,110 10,748 2011-2012 8,487 7,771 8,168 12,221 9,887 8,580 11,149 2012-2013 5,119 8,532 9,866 11,809 8,730 10,072 11,253 In terms of graduation in Florida, the rates tend to rise (Figure 1) but are frequently unreliable, at times even controversial, because the United States does not follow a uniform method of evaluating graduation across all the states (Sellers, 2012). Even within the state of Florida, there are different graduation rates, such as the NGA (National Governors Alliance) and the compact graduation rate. The NGA is the measure for graduation rates influenced by the nations governors as basis for the implementation of national policies(Curran & Reyna, 2010). The latter rate comprises both the special and standard recipients of diplomas as graduates, excluding General Educational Development (GEDs) as alumnae, whether adult or regular. It does not include those who have transferred to adult education from the regular one. The above system is employed in the calculation of high school grades in Floridas school accountability system (Education Information and Accountability Services, 2011). Figure 1. Florida Public High School Graduation Rates (2003-2004 through 2012-2013) Figure 1 shows the graduation rates of public schools in central Florida from 2003 through 2013. On the other hand, as per record, the district and state shows non-promotion rates of 1.3% and 2% for the school year 2012-2013. Background and justification. According to the Center for National Education and Statistics (CNES), the national graduation rate was 78.4% in 2010, while the graduation rate in Florida was 70.8%. Although the graduation rate increased from 2009-2010 in this county it still remained lower than the national average of 78.4% (Stillwell & Sable, 2013). The Education Information and Accountability Services (EIAS) Data Report stated that Florida retained 6.1% of its students for the 2009-2010 school years (Education Information and Accountability Services, 2011). That same report indicated that the researchers county retained 10% of its students, which is significantly higher than the overall average retention rate for the state of Florida, which is 8.3%. On the other hand, as shown in Figure 1, graduation rates appear to have risen in 2012-2013 at 75.9%. Dropout rates were reported to be at 4.6% but 19.8% of the students was retained (Education Information and Accountability Services, 2013). High school students that do not graduate translate to high costs to society. According to the Alliance for Excellent Education (2011), dropping out of school increases the chances of remaining unemployed by up to 40%. In addition, if a person secures employment, they will earn half of what he could have earned 20 years ago. Moreover, dropouts tends to cost the society up to $240,000 in terms on reliance on Medicare and Medicate, lower tax payment, involvement in crime and reliance on well-wishers. This picture has also been painted by the Alliance for Excellent Education in 2007 in relation to school dropouts. It was noted that every school day, almost 7,000 students become dropouts, which amounts to about 1.2 million students annually who will not graduate as scheduled. The graduation rates of the United States in general and of Florida in particular indicate that there are several significant issues in the education system that are bound to have major social and economic consequences unless appropriate measures are initiated timely (Alliance for Excellent Education, 2007). Based on the data provided in terms of significant concerns related to the academic achievement, graduation rates, and dropout rates, there is a clear need to further investigate the effects of retention on the public schools in Florida, particularly in Orlando. Students who have not met the essential requirements with regards to the key subjects of mathematics, science, English, and history are required to repeat the grade in which they did not master the basic skills required for promotion. Research has found that the negative attention given to the retained students leads to their continued poor academic success and declining self-concept, thereby increasing the probability of their dropping out (Weissberg, 2010). Moreover, there is overwhelming evidence on the underlying problem of school dropout rates in our Public educational system (Sellers, 2012). It is therefore necessary to determine whether the mandatory retention policy has a significant effect on school graduation rate and student academic achievement in the county in central Florida which the study will take place. Success for all students is the priority of several stakeholders: students, parents, schools, school districts, communities and government policies. Understanding how mandatory retention affects the students who do not graduate will benefit all parties involved when making laws that affect the outcome of student promotion. The students in Florida will benefit most from the findings of this study as it will determine whether or not staying for another year in the same grade after failing would improve their academic performance and ensure that they end up graduating. It is also important to take note that when students are retained, their stay in school will be extended as they are required to stay for a year longer. By determining the effects of the mandatory retention policy about their schools graduation rate, dropout rate, and academic performance, it will be more possible for school teachers and administrators to implement better strategies to make sure students are able to attain their goals in school. Parents of the students will also benefit from the findings of this study as parents are a significant part of the support system of the students. Because retention means repeating a year in the same grade, parents will be inclined to invest more resources (e.g. time, money, etc.) on their childrens schooling in order to make sure they meet the academic requirements of the grade. Should it be shown in the study that mandatory retention is not an effective policy; parents will be guided properly as to where they should allot their resources for their childrens education. Schools, communities, and government policy making bodies will also benefit from this study as findings may be able to aid in the legislation of new education laws and policies that will help students in the Florida District to improve their academic performance and their schools graduation rates. The findings of this study will also aid law making bodies in implementing policies that will result in the decrease of dropout rates in the district. This proposed research study seeks to explore and investigate the effects of the mandatory retention policy on Florida districts public schools on the academic achievement of students and graduation rates of public schools, particularly the public schools in the county in central Florida, since the inception of the states Mandatory Retention Policy of 2003. The purpose of this study is to examine various aspects of the mandatory retention policy, such as the academic effects on the students retained and their subsequent and the linkages ?? if any can be determined ?? that the retentions have with the dropout rate and the graduation rate. This study aims to investigate this link by analyzing the quantitative data at the middle school level in the researchers school district. This section presents the definition of major concepts and terms that are related to the study. Grade retention or mandatory retention: This refers to a student being retained to repeat a grade upon exhibition that the student is lacking in the requisite skills (Inman, 2008). Good Cause Exemption: This is an alternative to a students progress to the subsequent grade level upon the student exhibiting understanding of the study material (Inman, 2008). The main reasons for implementing mandatory retention is to improve academic achievement among struggling students as well as to improve the graduation rates among schools(Florida Department of Education, 2008). Thus, this study leans on the concept that retention as a significant effect on student academic achievement and school graduation rates. This study also leans on the model developed by Ehmke et al. (2010) which highlights two major concepts as shown in Figure 2 below. Figure 2. Conceptual Paradigm The first concept is that retained students benefit from retention because they are freed from belonging to a group of students with low academic achievement in the classroom and that they are now working in a classroom environment with low academic expectations. This therefore leads to higher academic self-concept, which produces higher performance after the retention year. The second concept is that retained students may eventually drop out of school because changing into a younger class could lead to stigmatization along with difficulties in adjusting to a new peer group. Ehmke et al. (2010) explained that because students are separated from their class to be retained, they no longer feel the pressure of catching up with their peers as they can repeat academic milestones with new peers who are yet to have an idea of the lessons in their grade level. Retention has a positive effect on academic achievement among retained students because retention increases their academic self-concept and self-esteem. This concept was supported in the study of Aryana (2010) wherein retention was found to be significantly linked to high academic self-esteem and self-concept. This link also tends to be strengthened by personality traits that also contribute to academic achievement (Caprara et al., 2011) The second concept in this present study suggests that retention may have a negative effect on graduation rates as students are forced to adjust to a new peer group that is younger than them. Several studies such as the ones conducted by Glick and Sahn (2010), Bornsheuer et al. (2011), Penfield (2010), and Quiroga et al., (2012) supported each other in concluding that retained students eventually are dropouts in secondary schools. According to Ritzema and Shaw (2012), one of the main reasons for dropping out is depression, wherein students retained multiple times, eventually lose their self-esteem and no longer desire to continue with their schooling. On the other hand, Huddleston (2014) and Tinto (2004) stated that this is because most schools do not have the resources to implement interventions such as financial support systems as well as developing teaching skills for teachers handling retained students. Since 1999, the educational system in Florida has been dominated by a significant number of political initiatives, such as raising academic standards and creating competitive school choice options. Most of these were begun during the administration of Governor Jeb Bush. Such policies have re-shaped K-12 and higher education systems and tackled a number of important issues involving students, teachers, and school administrators(Borman & Dorn, Introduction: Issues in Florida Education Reform, 2007). Several authors discuss two of the most important indicators for success of educational policies have always included academic achievement (Hall, 2007; Borman, et al., 2004) and graduation rates (Orfield, Losen, Wald, & Swanson, 2004; Graves, 2008; Shah, 2013; Samuels, 2008). The academic achievement of students is considered as the basis for almost all aspects of education. This is because academic achievement provides the direction to all educational policies and programs(Guskey, 2013). This makes academic achievement as a multifaceted construct(Guskey, 2013). For example, in a study conducted by Aryana (2010), academic achievement has been linked to high levels of self-esteem. In 2014, Jeynes found that the involvement of fathers has a significant effect on student academic achievement(Jeynes, 2014). Capraram, Vecchione, Alessandri, Gerbino, and Barbaranelli (2011) looked into personality traits as significant contributors to academic achievement while some researchers such as Junco (2011) have focused on external factors such as the use of social networking sites like Facebook. Aside from academic achievement, educational policies are also being shaped by graduation rates. For many years, graduation rates have been used as a gauge of the health of American society in terms of the skills of its future workforce. The upward trend in graduation rates has been found to be correlated with increases in worker productivity, high economic growth(Heckman & LaFontaine, 2010), and student mobility(Ross, 2014). At present, the graduation rates in the United States have been affected by a number of factors such as student absenteeism, suspension, low student achievement and poverty (Shah, 2013; Samuels, 2008). This has further pushed the government to implement more policies to improve academic achievement and graduation rates. This includes the No Child Left behind Act of 2001, which eventually led to the establishment of the mandatory retention policy (Cannon & Lipscomb, 2011; Briggs, 2013; Whitney, 2014; The Florida Legislature, 2014). At present, there are now 32 states that have legislation to improve reading proficiency among students while 16 states, including the District of Columbia, already have mandatory retention laws for students who fail to meet the standards(Ventura, 2013). Mandatory retention has been part of the American educational system for many years and has been notable in the first and third grade levels in elementary schools as well as in Grades 9, 10, and 11 in secondary schools. In 2002-2003, the salient increase in the number of retained students in Florida has been due to the implementation of new state laws that requires the mandatory retention of third grade students who failed to reach the required skills and knowledge by the end of the year. This has led to a significant 71% increase in non-promotions among third grade students alone. In recent years, retention in 9 to 12 has also increased because of the increasing requirements for graduation as well as the challenging curriculum(Ventura, 2013). This chapter shows that in the past 10 years, that there have been numerous studies conducted on the effects of mandatory retention on academic achievement and dropout rates among various states across the United States and even abroad. However, the findings of these studies have appeared to vary in many different ways, such as the type of students, teachers, location, and gender. In order to explore the relationship between mandatory retention and graduation rates, and to determine the effect of mandatory retention on student academic achievement, this chapter discusses a review of empirical literature on the effects of grade retention on student academic achievement and school graduation rates. This chapter also presents the conceptual framework, research questions, and research hypotheses of the present study. In a wide range of studies, mandatory retention policies have resulted to a mixture of positive and negative effects as studies have been shown to have a positive effect on student achievement and graduation rates (Hughes, Chen, Thoemmes, & Kwok, 2010; Schwerdt & West, 2012; Babcock & Bedard, 2001; Mariano & Martorell, 2013; Balkcom, 2014), while some have concluded otherwise (Ehmke, Drechsel, & Carstensen, 2010; Chen, Liu, Zhang, Shi, & Rozelle, 2010; Im, et al., 2013; Garcia-Perez & Hiladgo, 2014; Belot & Vandenberghe, 2014). For example, in a review of the literature conducted by Range, Dougan, and Pijanowski (2011), retaining failing students in their early elementary years resulted in higher academic achievement when they reach higher grades. Retention was also found to improve the academic performance of retained students to an extent that retained students could outperform continuously promoted students. On the other hand, the review of Range et al. also showed that retention can be associated with socio-emotional issues and problem behaviors as well as low academic performance when students reach their higher years or when they enter secondary education. There are a number of variables that are associated with grade retention among elementary school students. According to Hill (2010), grade retention significantly depends on a number of factors such as ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and gender. In a study by Huang (2014) among kindergarten students, younger students were found to be five times more likely to be retained in kindergarten as compared to older students. This is after gathering data from 1,187 participants from a large 3-A school district in Northeast Texas. The findings also showed that other factors such as attentiveness and task persistence continued to the likelihood of retention as much as student academic capabilities. According to Cannon and Lipscomb (2011), students still appear to manifest low academic achievement even if all the other factors such as ethnicity, gender, health, and economic status are made equal. However, Cannon and Lipscomb also explained that mandatory retention is a severe but beneficial step for struggling students, especially in terms of their academic achievement and schools graduation rates (Education Information & Accountability Services, 2009). As findings on the effect of retention on academic achievement have been very much varied, recent literature on the effect of the policy on graduation rates have been shown to be majorly suggest that retention leads to low graduation rates and even increases in dropout rates (Glick & Sahn, 2010; Penfield, 2010; Bornsheuer, Polonyi, Andrews, Fore, & Onwuegbuzie, 2011; Quiroga, Janosz, Lyons, & Morin, 2012; Ritzema & Shaw, 2012). Only a few studies were able to suggest that retention can be beneficial to graduation rates(Hickman & Wright, 2011), with one study questioning the methods as to how studies were able to arrive at the conclusion that retention is harmful on graduation(Huddleston, 2014), and one study exerting that additional interventions should be implemented in order to fulfil the benefits of grade retention(Tinto, 2004). Effect on Academic Achievement. Academic achievement is considered as one of the most significant indicators of student and school success across all studies on student and curriculum development(Guskey, 2013). This is also true in terms of investigating the effects f mandatory retention. According to Balkcom (2014), one of the most successful mandatory retention policies in the United States is the one implemented by the state of Florida, which requires failing students to repeat their third grade. Balkcom (2014) highlighted a report by the Department of Education in Florida in 2006 showing that 62% of students who repeated their third grade eventually improved their performance over the following year. Those who were retained also received a more intensive type of instruction. Balkcom (2014) also discussed that the retention policy in Florida works because the policy requires schools to provide reading enhancement as well as acceleration strategies to aid retained students so that they may be able to catch up to their classmates. According to Mariano and Martorell (2013), retention is also effective among schools in New York. The researchers made use of test score cutoffs in English language arts (ELA) and math to measure performance. The findings showed that retention had a significant positive effect on the ELA and math scores through seventh grade, suggesting that another year of instruction in the fifth grade is beneficial to failing students. Aside from these studies conducted by Balkcom (2013) and Mariano and Martorell (2013), many other investigations were conducted. Among the studies on the direct effects of retention on student outcomes were also studied on the short-term and long-term effects of the policy on academic achievement (Hughes et al., 2010; Babcock & Bedard, 2011; Schwerdt & West, 2012), and the subjective effects of the policy among teachers, students, and school administrators (Renaud, 2010; Range et al., 2012; Smith & Herzog, 2014). Short-term versus long term effects on academic achievement. Some studies suggest that retention does not only improve the academic performance of students as they repeat the grade, but also increase the likelihood of success when they reach higher grades. For example, Hughes et al. (2010) investigated the relationship between grade retention in first grade and passing the third grade state accountability tests in reading and math. The researchers of the study made use of a sample consisting of 769 students in the first grade. One hundred sixty-five of the students were retained in the first grade while the other 604 were promoted. Propensity matching was used to analyze the data. The results showed a significant positive relationship between retention and math scores when the students reached the third grade, while a marginally significant relationship was found between retention and reading scores. Schwerdt and West (2012) investigated the effectiveness of early grade retention on student outcomes in Florida. Early retention was found to manifest short-term gains in terms of achievement among retained students. Retention was also found to significantly reduce the probability of retention in the succeeding years. In terms of long term student outcomes, a study was conducted by Babcock and Bedard (2011) on retention in relation to hourly wages in the long run. The results of the study showed that early grade retention eventually leads to 0.7% increase in mean hourly wages. Aside from student data from the U.S. Department of Education (Mariano & Martorell, 2013; Balkcom, 2014), studies also looked at the perception of teachers and school administrators on the effect of retention on the achievement of students. In Florida, Wynn found in a sample of 326 teachers that majority of them agreed that retention is necessary. Seventy percent of the teachers also reported to agree that poor academic achievement is the main reason why students should be retained, while 65% believed that grade retention enables failing students to catch up with their peers. In a study conducted by Range, Holt et al. (2012), teachers and principals who participated in a paper survey were found to believe that students should be retained because of poor academic performance. Teachers were found to believe more than principals that retention helps prevent future failure among students as well as maintain academic standards. Teachers also believed that retention assists teachers in terms of providing additional math support and motivates students to attend school. The same findings were exhibited in an earlier study conducted by Renaud (2010), although teachers were found to be pressured and accountable from high stakes testing as they feel that test results should only be one of the many factors to be considered for retention. Aside from teachers, some of the students themselves believe that retention was able to positively contribute to their academic performance and achievement. In a phenomenological study conducted by Smith and Herzog (2014), the experiences of senior high school students who were held back one grade in elementary school were investigated. In the study, the students shared that when they got retained they were afraid that they would lose their friends. However, the students were able to manifest resiliency and were able to overcome their challenges and achievements in school. The findings of the study also showed that other factors such as family support, early academic interventions, as well as extracurricular activities played a
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