Almost 14,000 kindergarten students were held back for a second year of kindergarten classes in the 2010-11 school year. A Bridge Magazine analysis of state data found wide disparities in the rates of such kindergarten retention, however. And these rates are not tied to academic success, poverty or other research factors.
Districts in rural areas and in Northern Michigan tended to have higher retention rates than those in suburban and urban areas of the state, Bridge found.
In some districts, one-third or more of the a kindergarten class will be held back each year – as a matter of routine and policy.
STATE SPENDS MILLIONS TO HOLD BACK KINDERGARTNERS
Using data compiled by Public Sector Consultants, a Lansing-based research firm, Bridge ranked 337 school districts by their retention rate. (Please note that not all public school districts will be in the list; state datasets do not give detailed breakdowns on any district that retains fewer than 10 students in a grade level in a year.)
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