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. Despite retention rates falling, the gap between Black boys and white boys stayed consistent. (The Office for Civil Rights, the only source for consistent data across all states, is now eight months behind in releasing new data.)
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.
“Schools reproduce the same inequalities that exist throughout society,” said 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. “It doesn’t matter if you’re talking about education and retentions or you’re talking about rates of getting pulled over by police or you’re talking about uninsured subgroups. For the most part, you’re going to see Black people at or near the bottom.”
Related: A national divide over holding back students: Some states do it young, others wait until high school
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.
In recent years, states like Mississippi have passed laws that require schools to hold back students who aren’t proficient in reading by third grade. But many state laws, including North Carolina’s, allow exceptions, which can lead to inconsistent policies across schools and districts, according to an analysis of state legislation produced for The Hechinger Report by the Education Commission of the States.
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. Researchers surmised that those gaps came down, in part, to the fact that Black students were more likely to attend charter schools, which had higher retention rates, and that they were less likely to receive certain types of exemptions, such as for disabilities.
The state repealed its retention law in 2023.
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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.
“To the extent that boys are more harshly disciplined, that probably is playing a role in it,” Lindsay said.
Educators across the country have noticed the pattern too.
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.
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,” he said.
Ariel Gilreath is a reporter at The Hechinger Report. Contact her on Signal at arielgilreath.46 or at gilreath@hechingerreport.org. Carli Brosseau is a reporter at The Assembly. Contact her at carli@theassemblync.com.
This story about Black boys being held back was produced by Big Local News at Stanford University and The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education, in collaboration with The Assembly in North Carolina. The data analysis was conducted by Eric Sagara, senior data journalist with Big Local News. Sign up for the Hechinger newsletter.
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