Table A-18-1. Percentage of students in kindergarten through grade 8 who had ever been retained in a grade during their school career, by selected characteristics: Selected years, 1996

Student Effort and Educational Progress: Tables

Elementary/Secondary Persistence and Progress

Table A-18-1. Percentage of students in kindergarten through grade 8 who had ever been retained in a grade during their school career, by selected characteristics: Selected years, 1996–2007

Characteristic	1996		1999		2001		2003		2005		2007
Total	10.6		9.2		9.2		8.8		10.2		9.8
School type
Public	11.0		9.8		9.8		9.2		10.6		10.2
Private	7.3		5		4.4		5.1		7.2		6.7

Sex
Male	13.4		11.3		11.4		10.2		11.9		11.7
Female	7.7		7.1		7		7.3		8.3		7.6

Race/ethnicity¹
White	9.4		7.6		7.1		7.3		8		7.9
Black	13.9		14.5		15.3		14.3		17.7		16.4
Hispanic	13		11.4		12.2		9.1		11.7		10.9
Asian	6.4	!	3	!	2.1	!	3.7	!	1.8	!	‡
Other	11.7		10.1		10.7		10.9		10.7		8.8

Mother’s education²
Less than high school	20.3		17.3		18.9		17.2		19.6		19.7
High school graduate or equivalent	11.7		11		10.8		10.8		12.5		12.6
Vocational/technical or some college	7.9		7.1		7.5		7.7		8.5		12.2
Bachelor’s degree	4.5		4.2		3		3.9		4.9		3.2
Graduate/professional school	5.5		4.5		4.3		3.3		4.4		3.1

Poverty status
Poor	17.2		15.7		16.6		17.4		18.9		22.9
Near-poor	12.5		11.5		11.2		10.2		13		10.9
Nonpoor	6.8		5.5		5.8		5.6		6.1		5.1

Region
Northeast	10.3		8.7		8.3		8.9		9.8		10.5
South	13.9		11.7		12.4		11.6		13.7		13.2
Midwest	8.9		8.5		7.8		6.3		6.9		7.8
West	7.4		6.4		6.9		7.1		8.3		6

Primary language spoken in home
English	10.6		9.2		9.2		8.8		10.1		9.7
Language other than English	11.4		9.9		9.8		8.1		12.1		10.5

Country of birth
United States	—		9.2		9.2		8.8		10.1		9.6
Other jurisdictions³	—		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
Other country	—		10.2		8.9		9.3		12.4		12.5
Of the percentage of students who had ever been retained
Grade level retained⁴
Kindergarten–1st grade	34.4		32.6		27.8		31		30.7		34.1
2nd–3rd grade	14.7		12.3	⁵	17.8		15.6		16.9		15
4th–5th grade	7.4		8.3		10.1		8.4		10.2		9.3
6th–8th grade	6.2		13.3		10.6		10.6		9.1		6.9
— Not available.
! Interpret data with caution (estimates are unstable).
‡ Reporting standards not met.
¹ Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. “Other” includes individuals of more than one race.
² Estimates for mother’s education exclude data for students who were reported to have no mother or female guardian.
3 Other jurisdictions includes U.S. territories.
⁴ Includes only students who had ever been retained in their school career. For example, of all students in 2007 who had ever been retained in their school career, 34 percent were retained in kindergarten or 1st grade. Respondents could report retention in more than one grade over the course of the student’s school career. For example, a student who had been retained both in kindergarten and in 3rd grade would be counted in both the “kindergarten or 1st grade”category and the “2nd or 3rd grade” category.
⁵ For 1999, the estimate of students ever retained who were retained in 2nd grade (derived from the variable SEREPT2 on the Parent-NHES:1999 data file) is omitted here because it is anomalous. Due to this data anomaly, the “2nd or 3rd grade” category for 1999 includes only students who were retained in 3rd grade. For more informationon this data anomaly, see http://nces.ed.gov/nhes/dataproducts_anomaly.asp.
NOTE: All data are based on parent reports. In 2007, administrative record data were also used to establish school type. Estimates exclude homeschooled students. For more information on race/ethnicity, parents’ education, poverty thresholds, and a list of the states in each region, see supplemental note 1. For more information on National Household Education Surveys (NHES), see supplemental note 3.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Parent Survey, Before- and After-School Programs Survey, and Parent and Family Involvement in Education Survey of the 1996–2007 NHES (Parent-NHES:1999; ASPA-NHES:2001 and 2005; and PFI-NHES:1996, 2003, and 2007).

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