Third grade is the notable exception where retained students did not make smaller gains, likely due to the ITBS Level 8 to Level 9 test format change¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 1995 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? The pattern of smaller gains among retained students does not hold in third grade, and the authors attribute the third-grade gain dip at least partly to the change in test format from ITBS Level 8 to ITBS Level 9. → Stuart Luppescu 1995

Evidence¶

Stuart Luppescu 1995¶

Stuart Luppescu, Anthony S. Bryk, Paul Deabster, John Q. Easton, and Yeow Meng Thum. (1995). School Reform, Retention Policy, and Student Achievement Gains. University of Chicago draft report. https://consortium.uchicago.edu/publications/school-reform-retention-policy-and-student-achievement-gains

q2 · i? · causal · r2

Authors' interpretation of the third-grade dip in gains in the Chicago gain comparisons. They note the dip is "hard to explain" but consistent with the test-format change, since repeaters taking Level 9 a second time show no dip. This is an interpretation, not a tested result.

"It is probably at least partly attributable to the change in test format from ITBS Level 8 to ITBS Level 9. This explanation is consistent with the fact that the gains made by students who have repeated the grade, and thus are taking the Level 9 test for the second time, show no such dip."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Age and Developmental Stage — moderator: an instructional effect differs with it

Related Claims¶

• Students who were promoted made larger achievement gains than students with the same propensity for retention who were retained, in almost all grades — a broader claim this one bears on
• Retained students showed smaller three-year achievement gains than previously socially promoted students, though Rasch adjustment erased the gap for once-retained third graders — related
• CPS learning gains were consistently higher in all grades in 1996 than in 1994, but 1999 gains declined slightly relative to 1997 in all grades except third, suggesting productivity gains may have peaked — related
• ITBS test form progression systematically influences eighth-grade math gain scores, with Form L-to-M years showing the largest gains and Form K-to-L years the smallest — related
• Students in the top propensity-for-retention category showed higher gains than students not in the top category — related