PREDICTORS AND EFFECTS OF GRADE REPETITION IN SPAIN

Abstract

About a third of Spanish students will have repeated at least one school year by the time they reach 16. It is claimed that alternative policies top grade repetition should seek to provide individualised treatment and ensure early intervention. In Spain, while there is empirical evidence in support of the benefits of the former, there is little for the latter. Here, we fill this gap by combining data from two international assessments. We identify the profile of students who a) are at greatest risk of grade retention and b) are most negatively affected by the policy. Our results confirm the importance of early intervention and the need to rethink grade repetition as a one-size-fits-all policy.

Keywords

• Grade retention
• academic achievement
• reverse causality
• PISA
• PIRLS.