Published Online in: Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis October 12, 2023
NaYoung Hwang, University of New Hampshire Cory Koedel, University of Missouri
We evaluate the effects of grade retention on students’ academic, attendance, and disciplinary outcomes in Indiana. Using a regression discontinuity design, we show that third-grade retention increases achievement in English Language Arts (ELA) and math immediately and substantially, and the effects persist into middle school. We find no evidence of grade retention effects on student attendance or disciplinary incidents, again into middle school. Our findings combine to show that Indiana’s third-grade retention policy improves achievement for retained students without adverse impacts along (measured) nonacademic dimensions.
Read the press release: "Study: Struggling Students Who Repeat Third Grade See Improved Achievement"
Study citation: Hwang, N. & Koedel, C. (2023). Helping or hurting: The effects of retention in the third grade on student outcomes. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis. Prepublished October 12, 2023.
Today, July 14, 2025
The 74, December 6, 2023
Diverse Issues in Higher Education, October 17, 2023
Education Week, October 13, 2023