Determining How to Reduce Kindergarten Retentions Through Teacher and Student Supports

There are currently a high number of kindergarten retentions in a school district. Retentions can have negative short-term and long-term effects on students and increase costs to a district. The purpose of the study is to deter mine how t o reduce kindergarten retentions through teacher and student supports. To understand how this can be done, this study determined the teacher perceptions that constituted a student who should be retained in kindergarten. An examination occurred of what factors helped predict which students were at-risk for kindergarten retention. This study analyzed how the information from this research can be used t o reduce retentions and benefit student success in kindergarten. It
determined how the information from this research can be used to support instruction to minimize retention. Teachers were surveyed in this study. Demographic data and
behavioral data was analyzed for the frequency of characteristics of students retained in kindergarten. Academic data was analyzed for measures of central tendency. Students who have poor achievement in reading are targets for retention based on t he results in the study. Teachers who participated in the study indicated that reading was a criteria used to determine if a student was a candidate for retention. Achievement in the area of English Language Arts ( ELA) was examined. Central tendency measures showed that students were not achieving in this area. Student birthdate was noted as a factor in kindergarten retention. Teachers stated maturity was a fact or when determining students to be retained in
kindergarten.