Arthur Reynolds, PhD, was recently quoted in an Associated Press article titled “More kids are repeating a grade. Is it good for them?” The article discusses the increased number of students repeating a school year during the pandemic and the impact this may have on their academic and overall development.

Reynolds, who is the Director of the Chicago Longitudinal Study, notes that children who repeat a school year have a two-fold increased risk of dropping out. He says, “Kids see it as punishment,” and “It reduces their academic motivation, and it doesn’t increase their instructional advancement.”

Given the challenges posed during the pandemic, students, parents, educators and developmental psychologists are evaluating whether or not repeating a school year is the best solution. Some propose that instead of either repeating a year or moving on students could move on while receiving additional support. With an overall goal of supporting students’ academic, social, and emotional development, the discussion is ongoing.

Reynolds’ work centers around prioritizing strategies to promote all of children’s learning needs as early as possible. This has proven to be more effective than remedial practices such as grade retention. Comprehensive early childhood programs such as the Child-Parent Center PreK-3rd program have been shown to improve educational success and well-being throughout childhood and into adulthood. One example was highlighted in a study published in JAMA Network Open in 2021 by Reynolds, Suh-Ruu Ou, PhD, and Lauren Eales, MA, in which preschool participation in the Child-Parent Center program was associated with a 20% reduction in cardiovascular disease risk.
  
Learn more about Reynolds’ work at the University of Minnesota’s Human Capital Research Collaborative here.