The Differential Effects of Repeating Kindergarten

Abstract

We use the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study to investigate national patterns addressing (a) who repeats kindergarten, and (b) the subsequent cognitive effects of this event. Using OLS regression techniques, we investigate 1st-time kindergartners who are promoted, 1st-time kindergartners who are retained, and children who are already repeating kindergarten. Boys, children from low socioeconomic backgrounds, and children who enter kindergarten younger than typical age standards are consistently at risk for repeating kindergarten, but racial/ethnic patterns differ across the 2 cohorts of kindergarten repeaters. Evidence suggests that repeating kindergarten rarely leads to cognitive benefits in literacy or mathematics performance. On average, kindergarten repeaters continue to perform below their peers in terms of literacy skills both at the end of kindergarten and at the end of first grade (effect size [ES] = −0.20 and −0.24, respectively). In mathematics, the performance differentials are smaller but remain statistically significant. Evidence suggests that these differences vary somewhat by children's background and the school setting. Most children appear to receive little or no cognitive benefit from repeating kindergarten, suggesting the need for a careful reconsideration of current retention practices.

Notes

¹These school rates of kindergarten repetition are based on estimates from the within-school ECLS-K samples. A repetition rate of zero might reflect no repetition, but it might also be an artifact of the sampling process. Most of the ECLS-K schools have fewer than 20 children per school, so there are artificial restrictions placed on these estimates. For example, in a school with 20 or few sampled children, kindergarten repetition rates could be estimated at 0% or above 5%, but nothing in between.

*** p < .001.

^aDifference between kindergarten repeaters and first-time kindergartners who were promoted tested for significance.

^bDifference between kindergarten retainees and first-time kindergartners who were promoted tested for significance.

²Parents also rated children's at-home behaviors, with parents' at-home ratings and teachers' in-school ratings mostly uncorrelated with each other. Parents also reported (a) how often their child complained about school and (b) how often their child was too upset to go school. Both of these reports may provide some early warning signs about who is likely to be retained, as well as the possible impact of being retained: 7.5% of first-timers who were promoted complained about school every day, 10.8% of first-timers who were retained complained every day, and 12.0% of repeaters complained everyday (during their second year of kindergarten). A similar pattern holds for the other item: 6.4% of first-timers who were promoted were too upset to go to school (more than once a week), 8.4% of first-timers who were retained were too upset (more than once a week), and 10.7% of repeaters were too upset (more than once a week during their second year of kindergarten). For some children, adjusting to the school setting is quite difficult and may lead to a desire to avoid or disengage from school. If repeating a grade means a return to the same difficult setting—without any targeted intervention—the desire to avoid or disengage from school may only increase.

***p < .001.

^aDifference between kindergarten repeaters and first-time kindergartners who were promoted tested for significance.

^bDifference between kindergarten retainees and first-time kindergartners who were promoted tested for significance.

*p < .05

***p < .001.

^aDifference between kindergarten repeaters and first-time kindergartners who were promoted tested for significance.

^bDifference between kindergarten retainees and first-time kindergartners who were promoted tested for significance.

* p < .05.

** p < .01.

*** p < .001. K = kindergarten, SES = socioeconomic status.

^aUnadjusted achievement differences, Spring 1999.

^bAdjusted achievement differences, Spring 1999 (adjusted for gender, race, age, non-English household, single-parent household, SES quintiles, pre-kindergarten care, full-day versus half-day kindergarten, special education enrollment during kindergarten, teachers' assessment of social skills (Fall 1998), prior achievement (Fall 1998), and testing time gap (from Fall 1998 to Spring 1999).

^cAdjusted achievement differences and significant treatment-by-covariate interaction terms (full model includes all first-order terms from Model 1).

³We uncovered two significant interaction terms with regard to children who will repeat kindergarten. One involved the testing time gap: the adjusted literacy achievement gap (ES = −0.25) grows larger as the time between assessments increases (change in achievement gap per 1 SD increase in time is ES = −0.06). The other involved children in preprimary schools, where the literacy achievement gap is wider than in other schools (ES = −0.25 − 0.29 = −.54). This suggests that children who are retained in preprimary schools are at an even larger cognitive disadvantage relative to their peers in pre-primary schools.

* p < .05.

** p < .01.

*** p < .001. K = kindergarten, SES = socioeconomic status.

^aUnadjusted achievement differences, Spring 1999.

^bAdjusted achievement differences, Spring 1999 (adjusted for gender, race, age, non-English household, single-parent household, SES quintiles, pre-kindergarten care, full-day versus half-day kindergarten, special education enrollment during kindergarten, teachers' assessment of social skills (Fall 1998), entering achievement (Fall 1998), and testing time gap (from Fall 1998 to Spring 1999).

^cAdjusted achievement differences and significant treatment-by-covariate interaction terms (full model includes all first-order terms from Model 1).

⁴We uncovered three significant interaction terms with regard to children who will repeat kindergarten. The adjusted mathematics achievement gap between first-timers who were promoted and first-timers who were retained is larger in preprimary schools (ES = −0.10 − 0.19 = −0.29). The adjusted mathematics achievement gap is also slightly larger for older children. Among children with lower entering mathematics skills, the adjusted mathematics achievement gap is slightly larger.

* p < .05.

** p < .01.

*** p < .001.

^aUnadjusted achievement differences, Spring 2000.

^bAdjusted achievement differences, Spring 2000 (adjusted for gender, race, age, non-English household, single-parent household, SES quintiles, pre-Kindergarten care, full-day versus half-day kindergarten, special education enrollment during first grade, teachers' assessment of social skills (Spring 1999), prior achievement (Spring 1999), and testing time gap (from Spring 1999 to Spring 2000).

^cAdjusted achievement differences and significant treatment-by-covariate interaction terms (full model includes all first-order terms from Model 1).

* p < .05.

** p < .01.

*** p < .001.

^aUnadjusted achievement differences, Spring 2000.

^bAdjusted achievement differences, Spring 2000 (adjusted for gender, race, age, non-English household, single-parent household, SES quintiles, pre-Kindergarten care, full-day versus half-day kindergarten, special education enrollment during first grade, teachers' assessment of social skills (Spring 1999), prior achievement (Spring 1999), and testing time gap (from Spring 1999 to Spring 2000).

^cAdjusted achievement differences and significant treatment-by-covariate interaction terms (full model includes all first-order terms from Model 1).