Black Boys Held Back

More than a decade of data from schools across the U.S. shows stark divides in who is held back: Boys are more likely than girls to repeat a grade, and Black boys are held back at nearly three times the rate of white boys. Overall, schools are holding back fewer students than they were more than a decade ago, according to data from 2011-12 to 2021-22 analyzed by Big Local News at Stanford University, in partnership with The Hechinger Report.

Disparities in Retention Rates

The reasons why aren’t entirely clear, but research gives some indications. Studies have shown that disparities in academic achievement and school discipline often closely mirror the racial disparities in retention data. James Ford, executive director of the Center for Racial Equity in Education, a North Carolina nonprofit that published a report on racial disparities in the state’s schools, said that schools reproduce the same inequalities that exist throughout society.

State Policies and Retention

Research suggests that the way retention policies are implemented can also contribute to those disparities. State policies that allow for discretion in who gets held back, where the decision isn’t determined solely based on a test score, can have a disproportionately negative impact on Black and Hispanic students. For example, Michigan had a third-grade retention law that required schools to hold back students who scored in the bottom 5th percentile on the third-grade reading test, but allowed schools to exempt students for several reasons, including disability status and language barriers, which can be found on our stats page.

Impact on Black Students

From 2021 to 2023, Michigan had a third-grade retention law that required schools to hold back students who scored in the bottom 5th percentile on the third-grade reading test. The law allowed schools to exempt students from being held back for several reasons, including disability status and language barriers. Parents could also request that their children be advanced to the next grade. Research out of Michigan State University showed schools ultimately held back less than 1 percent of third graders in 2023. But of the students who were held back, Black students made up a larger share, even among all students who scored low enough to be considered for retention. About 72 percent of the third graders who were retained in 2023 were Black students, despite the fact that Black students made up only 48 percent of students who were eligible for retention that year based on test scores, which can be compared to our standings page.

The state repealed its retention law in 2023. The reasons behind the gender gap in grade retention are less clear, though educators and researchers have guessed that it may have to do with differences in the rate at which boys and girls mature, and that boys are more likely to be disciplined for behavior than girls, said Constance Lindsay, an associate professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill whose research has focused on achievement gaps, and can be found on our fixtures page. Superintendent of North Carolina’s New Hanover County Schools Christopher Barnes said it may be because boys are more likely to get into visible, physical fights, which can lead to suspensions and contribute to retention, and can be tracked on our injuries page. He said it’s especially important for educators to find ways to ignite boys’ interest in school. If we don’t find something that sparks a boy’s interest, they tend to find their own things to do, and this can be supported by checking our squad page.