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Digest of Education Statistics
2017 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 225.90. Number and percentage of elementary and secondary school students retained in grade, by sex, race/ethnicity, and grade level: 1994 through 2016
[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Grade level and year Students retained in grade (in same grade as in previous year)
Number of students retained (in thousands) Percent of students retained
Total Sex Race/ethnicity Total Sex Race/ethnicity
Males Females White Black Hispanic Male Female White Black Hispanic
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Total, all grades                                                                        
1994 1,368   (58.0) 747   (42.8) 621   (39.1) 772   (43.7) 333   (33.0) 222   (35.1) 2.9   (0.12) 3.1   (0.18) 2.7   (0.17) 2.5   (0.14) 4.5   (0.44) 3.7   (0.59)
1995 1,479   (56.1) 803   (41.3) 676   (38.0) 893   (43.7) 336   (28.2) 208   (23.9) 3.1   (0.12) 3.3   (0.17) 2.9   (0.16) 2.8   (0.14) 4.4   (0.37) 3.3   (0.38)
1996 1,223   (53.1) 717   (40.6) 506   (34.2) 629   (38.2) 312   (28.3) 233   (26.2) 2.4   (0.10) 2.7   (0.16) 2.1   (0.14) 1.9   (0.12) 3.9   (0.35) 3.3   (0.37)
1997 1,253   (53.7) 715   (40.5) 538   (35.3) 674   (39.5) 310   (28.2) 222   (25.5) 2.6   (0.11) 2.9   (0.16) 2.3   (0.15) 2.1   (0.12) 3.9   (0.36) 3.3   (0.38)
1998 1,335   (55.4) 734   (41.1) 601   (37.2) 713   (40.6) 345   (29.7) 213   (25.1) 2.7   (0.11) 2.9   (0.16) 2.5   (0.16) 2.3   (0.13) 4.3   (0.37) 3.1   (0.36)
                                                                         
1999 1,524   (59.1) 916   (45.7) 608   (37.4) 835   (43.9) 316   (28.5) 318   (30.5) 3.1   (0.12) 3.6   (0.18) 2.5   (0.16) 2.6   (0.14) 4.0   (0.36) 4.4   (0.42)
2000 1,521   (59.1) 946   (46.4) 575   (36.4) 737   (41.3) 391   (31.5) 306   (29.9) 3.1   (0.12) 3.7   (0.18) 2.4   (0.15) 2.3   (0.13) 5.0   (0.40) 4.1   (0.40)
2001 1,569   (56.9) 880   (42.6) 689   (37.8) 745   (39.4) 397   (30.2) 354   (30.4) 3.1   (0.11) 3.4   (0.17) 2.8   (0.16) 2.4   (0.12) 5.1   (0.38) 4.5   (0.39)
2002 1,475   (55.2) 803   (40.7) 672   (37.3) 744   (39.4) 311   (26.9) 348   (30.3) 2.9   (0.11) 3.1   (0.16) 2.7   (0.15) 2.4   (0.13) 4.0   (0.34) 4.0   (0.35)
2003 1,568   (56.9) 856   (42.0) 711   (38.4) 773   (40.1) 376   (29.4) 323   (29.2) 3.1   (0.11) 3.3   (0.16) 2.9   (0.16) 2.5   (0.13) 4.8   (0.38) 3.7   (0.34)
                                                                         
2004 1,515   (55.9) 858   (42.0) 657   (36.9) 717   (38.6) 368   (29.0) 316   (29.0) 3.0   (0.11) 3.3   (0.16) 2.7   (0.15) 2.4   (0.13) 4.9   (0.38) 3.5   (0.32)
2005 1,544   (56.5) 825   (41.3) 719   (38.6) 756   (39.6) 369   (29.1) 319   (29.1) 3.0   (0.11) 3.2   (0.16) 2.9   (0.16) 2.5   (0.13) 4.9   (0.38) 3.4   (0.31)
2006 1,418   (54.2) 756   (39.5) 663   (37.1) 689   (37.9) 295   (26.1) 321   (29.2) 2.8   (0.11) 2.9   (0.15) 2.7   (0.15) 2.3   (0.13) 4.0   (0.35) 3.4   (0.31)
2007 1,164   (49.2) 615   (35.8) 548   (33.8) 595   (35.2) 213   (22.3) 296   (28.1) 2.3   (0.10) 2.4   (0.14) 2.2   (0.14) 2.0   (0.12) 2.8   (0.30) 3.0   (0.28)
2008 999   (45.7) 543   (33.7) 456   (30.9) 506   (32.6) 231   (23.2) 225   (24.6) 2.0   (0.09) 2.1   (0.13) 1.8   (0.12) 1.7   (0.11) 3.1   (0.31) 2.2   (0.24)
                                                                         
2009 1,018   (46.1) 556   (34.1) 462   (31.1) 491   (32.1) 206   (22.0) 232   (24.9) 2.0   (0.09) 2.2   (0.13) 1.9   (0.13) 1.7   (0.11) 2.8   (0.30) 2.2   (0.24)
20101 1,061   (47.6) 557   (34.0) 504   (36.4) 506   (41.9) 191   (22.0) 305   (31.0) 2.1   (0.09) 2.2   (0.13) 2.0   (0.15) 1.8   (0.15) 2.6   (0.30) 2.8   (0.28)
20111 945   (60.5) 490   (41.9) 455   (37.7) 454   (41.7) 181   (24.9) 245   (29.7) 1.8   (0.12) 1.9   (0.16) 1.8   (0.15) 1.6   (0.15) 2.5   (0.34) 2.1   (0.26)
20121 1,106   (66.7) 603   (48.6) 503   (42.7) 437   (40.4) 210   (30.2) 363   (38.2) 2.2   (0.13) 2.3   (0.18) 2.0   (0.17) 1.6   (0.15) 2.9   (0.42) 3.1   (0.32)
20131 1,124   (71.1) 661   (50.5) 463   (40.4) 458   (49.0) 259   (31.6) 334   (35.3) 2.2   (0.14) 2.5   (0.19) 1.9   (0.16) 1.7   (0.18) 3.6   (0.44) 2.8   (0.29)
                                                                         
20141 1,313   (72.1) 723   (49.1) 590   (45.6) 523   (42.3) 218   (30.3) 430   (41.3) 2.6   (0.14) 2.8   (0.19) 2.4   (0.18) 2.0   (0.16) 3.0   (0.42) 3.6   (0.34)
20151 1,139   (77.3) 583   (49.6) 557   (49.5) 475   (39.3) 215   (41.2) 357   (36.5) 2.2   (0.15) 2.2   (0.19) 2.2   (0.20) 1.8   (0.15) 3.0   (0.58) 2.9   (0.30)
20161 947   (60.7) 512   (41.2) 435   (39.0) 443   (36.2) 189   (30.2) 238   (30.1) 1.9   (0.12) 2.0   (0.16) 1.8   (0.16) 1.7   (0.14) 2.7   (0.43) 1.9   (0.24)
                                                                         
Kindergarten
      through grade 8
                                                                       
1994 1,006   (53.3) 552   (39.5) 454   (35.9) 583   (40.7) 250   (30.6) 141   (30.1) 3.1   (0.16) 3.3   (0.24) 2.9   (0.23) 2.7   (0.19) 4.8   (0.59) 3.3   (0.71)
1995 1,089   (51.6) 570   (37.3) 519   (35.6) 677   (40.7) 259   (26.5) 122   (19.6) 3.3   (0.16) 3.4   (0.22) 3.2   (0.22) 3.1   (0.18) 4.9   (0.50) 2.7   (0.44)
1996 831   (47.0) 482   (35.7) 350   (30.5) 430   (33.9) 215   (25.2) 155   (22.9) 2.3   (0.13) 2.6   (0.20) 2.0   (0.18) 1.9   (0.15) 3.8   (0.45) 3.1   (0.46)
1997 863   (47.9) 508   (36.6) 356   (30.8) 464   (35.1) 227   (25.9) 143   (22.1) 2.6   (0.14) 2.9   (0.21) 2.2   (0.19) 2.1   (0.16) 4.2   (0.48) 3.0   (0.46)
1998 965   (50.5) 536   (37.6) 429   (33.7) 542   (37.9) 225   (25.8) 143   (22.1) 2.8   (0.15) 3.1   (0.21) 2.6   (0.20) 2.5   (0.17) 4.1   (0.47) 2.9   (0.44)
                                                                         
1999 994   (51.3) 600   (39.7) 393   (32.3) 533   (37.6) 217   (25.3) 213   (26.7) 2.9   (0.15) 3.4   (0.23) 2.4   (0.19) 2.5   (0.17) 4.0   (0.46) 4.1   (0.51)
2000 1,121   (54.3) 701   (42.8) 420   (33.4) 545   (38.0) 298   (29.5) 214   (26.9) 3.3   (0.16) 4.0   (0.24) 2.5   (0.20) 2.5   (0.18) 5.3   (0.53) 4.0   (0.50)
2001 1,047   (49.9) 588   (37.4) 459   (33.1) 524   (35.4) 266   (26.5) 233   (26.5) 3.0   (0.14) 3.3   (0.21) 2.7   (0.20) 2.4   (0.16) 4.9   (0.49) 4.1   (0.47)
2002 1,009   (49.0) 563   (36.6) 445   (32.6) 529   (35.6) 213   (23.9) 225   (26.2) 2.9   (0.14) 3.2   (0.21) 2.7   (0.19) 2.5   (0.17) 3.9   (0.43) 3.6   (0.42)
2003 1,110   (51.3) 596   (37.6) 514   (35.0) 550   (36.2) 259   (26.1) 229   (26.4) 3.3   (0.15) 3.4   (0.21) 3.2   (0.21) 2.7   (0.18) 4.9   (0.50) 3.8   (0.43)
                                                                         
2004 1,121   (51.6) 618   (38.2) 504   (34.6) 548   (36.1) 276   (26.9) 218   (25.8) 3.3   (0.15) 3.5   (0.22) 3.1   (0.21) 2.7   (0.18) 5.4   (0.52) 3.4   (0.40)
2005 1,129   (51.8) 594   (37.5) 535   (35.6) 567   (36.8) 256   (26.0) 235   (26.7) 3.3   (0.15) 3.4   (0.21) 3.2   (0.21) 2.8   (0.18) 5.0   (0.51) 3.6   (0.40)
2006 955   (47.7) 521   (35.2) 434   (32.2) 469   (33.5) 207   (23.5) 206   (25.1) 2.8   (0.14) 3.0   (0.21) 2.6   (0.20) 2.4   (0.17) 4.2   (0.48) 3.1   (0.38)
2007 749   (42.4) 394   (30.7) 355   (29.2) 392   (30.7) 131   (18.8) 193   (24.4) 2.2   (0.12) 2.2   (0.18) 2.1   (0.18) 2.0   (0.16) 2.7   (0.38) 2.7   (0.34)
2008 660   (39.9) 374   (29.9) 287   (26.3) 343   (28.8) 154   (20.3) 132   (20.3) 1.9   (0.12) 2.1   (0.17) 1.7   (0.16) 1.8   (0.15) 3.0   (0.40) 1.9   (0.28)
                                                                         
2009 619   (38.6) 316   (27.6) 302   (27.0) 324   (28.0) 109   (17.2) 128   (19.9) 1.8   (0.11) 1.8   (0.16) 1.8   (0.16) 1.7   (0.14) 2.3   (0.36) 1.7   (0.27)
20101 621   (37.9) 333   (28.2) 288   (27.9) 296   (33.1) 122   (17.2) 155   (23.0) 1.8   (0.11) 1.9   (0.16) 1.7   (0.16) 1.6   (0.17) 2.5   (0.36) 2.0   (0.29)
20111 631   (49.7) 342   (35.1) 289   (30.0) 318   (32.2) 94   (17.5) 183   (28.2) 1.8   (0.14) 1.9   (0.19) 1.7   (0.18) 1.7   (0.17) 1.9   (0.36) 2.2   (0.34)
20121 698   (52.9) 404   (39.3) 293   (29.8) 280   (33.3) 127   (23.6) 226   (30.6) 2.0   (0.15) 2.3   (0.22) 1.7   (0.18) 1.5   (0.18) 2.7   (0.49) 2.7   (0.37)
20131 668   (58.6) 377   (42.5) 292   (31.9) 268   (41.0) 153   (24.2) 215   (29.0) 1.9   (0.17) 2.1   (0.24) 1.7   (0.19) 1.5   (0.22) 3.2   (0.50) 2.5   (0.34)
                                                                         
20141 896   (58.4) 482   (39.2) 414   (37.8) 331   (32.6) 159   (24.3) 300   (31.5) 2.6   (0.17) 2.7   (0.22) 2.4   (0.22) 1.8   (0.18) 3.3   (0.49) 3.5   (0.37)
20151 791   (63.0) 417   (41.6) 373   (37.8) 320   (32.0) 156   (36.5) 246   (30.4) 2.3   (0.18) 2.3   (0.23) 2.2   (0.22) 1.8   (0.18) 3.2   (0.76) 2.8   (0.35)
20161 570   (44.0) 314   (31.8) 256   (29.2) 258   (28.4) 124   (21.9) 133   (22.4) 1.6   (0.13) 1.8   (0.18) 1.5   (0.17) 1.5   (0.16) 2.6   (0.46) 1.5   (0.26)
                                                                         
Grades 9
      through 12
                                                                       
1994 363   (29.9) 196   (22.0) 167   (20.3) 189   (21.6) 83   (16.5) 81   (21.1) 2.6   (0.21) 2.7   (0.31) 2.4   (0.29) 2.0   (0.23) 3.6   (0.72) 4.6   (1.20)
1995 390   (28.9) 232   (22.2) 157   (18.4) 216   (21.5) 76   (13.5) 87   (15.3) 2.7   (0.20) 3.2   (0.30) 2.2   (0.26) 2.2   (0.22) 3.3   (0.58) 5.0   (0.88)
1996 392   (30.0) 236   (23.3) 156   (19.0) 200   (21.5) 97   (15.8) 78   (15.1) 2.6   (0.20) 3.0   (0.29) 2.1   (0.26) 2.0   (0.21) 4.1   (0.66) 3.9   (0.75)
1997 389   (29.9) 207   (21.8) 182   (20.5) 211   (22.1) 82   (14.6) 78   (15.1) 2.6   (0.20) 2.7   (0.28) 2.5   (0.28) 2.1   (0.22) 3.3   (0.59) 4.0   (0.77)
1998 370   (29.2) 198   (21.4) 172   (20.0) 171   (19.9) 120   (17.5) 70   (14.3) 2.5   (0.20) 2.6   (0.28) 2.3   (0.27) 1.7   (0.20) 4.9   (0.72) 3.6   (0.73)
                                                                         
1999 530   (34.8) 316   (26.8) 215   (22.2) 302   (26.3) 98   (15.9) 106   (17.5) 3.5   (0.23) 4.0   (0.34) 2.9   (0.30) 3.0   (0.26) 4.2   (0.68) 5.0   (0.83)
2000 400   (30.3) 245   (23.7) 155   (19.0) 192   (21.1) 94   (15.5) 91   (16.3) 2.6   (0.20) 3.1   (0.30) 2.1   (0.26) 1.9   (0.21) 4.1   (0.68) 4.3   (0.77)
2001 521   (32.8) 291   (24.5) 230   (21.8) 221   (21.5) 131   (17.3) 121   (17.7) 3.4   (0.21) 3.7   (0.31) 3.1   (0.29) 2.2   (0.21) 5.5   (0.72) 5.7   (0.83)
2002 466   (31.1) 240   (22.3) 227   (21.6) 216   (21.2) 98   (15.0) 123   (17.9) 3.0   (0.20) 3.0   (0.28) 3.0   (0.28) 2.1   (0.21) 4.2   (0.64) 5.0   (0.73)
2003 458   (30.8) 260   (23.2) 197   (20.2) 223   (21.6) 117   (16.4) 95   (15.8) 2.8   (0.19) 3.1   (0.28) 2.4   (0.25) 2.2   (0.21) 4.6   (0.65) 3.7   (0.61)
                                                                         
2004 393   (28.6) 240   (22.3) 153   (17.9) 170   (18.8) 92   (14.6) 98   (16.1) 2.4   (0.18) 3.0   (0.27) 1.9   (0.22) 1.7   (0.19) 3.8   (0.60) 3.7   (0.61)
2005 415   (29.4) 231   (21.9) 184   (19.6) 188   (19.9) 113   (16.1) 84   (14.9) 2.5   (0.18) 2.7   (0.25) 2.3   (0.24) 1.8   (0.19) 4.6   (0.66) 3.0   (0.53)
2006 463   (31.0) 234   (22.0) 229   (21.8) 221   (21.4)   (†) 115   (17.4) 2.8   (0.19) 2.8   (0.26) 2.9   (0.27) 2.2   (0.22) 3.5   (0.56) 4.0   (0.61)
2007 415   (29.4) 221   (21.4) 194   (20.1) 203   (20.6) 82   (13.8) 103   (16.5) 2.5   (0.18) 2.6   (0.25) 2.4   (0.25) 2.1   (0.21) 3.2   (0.54) 3.6   (0.57)
2008 338   (26.6) 169   (18.8) 169   (18.8) 163   (18.5)   (†) 92   (15.7) 2.1   (0.16) 2.1   (0.23) 2.1   (0.24) 1.7   (0.19) 3.2   (0.55) 3.1   (0.52)
                                                                         
2009 400   (28.8) 240   (22.3) 160   (18.3) 167   (18.7) 97   (15.0) 104   (16.6) 2.5   (0.18) 2.9   (0.27) 2.1   (0.23) 1.8   (0.20) 3.9   (0.60) 3.5   (0.55)
20101 440   (31.8) 224   (24.3) 216   (22.9) 210   (23.1) 69   (14.3) 150   (19.8) 2.7   (0.20) 2.7   (0.30) 2.8   (0.29) 2.3   (0.25) 2.9   (0.59) 4.8   (0.62)
20111 314   (32.8) 148   (23.6) 166   (23.1) 137   (20.4)   (†)   (†) 1.9   (0.20) 1.8   (0.28) 2.1   (0.29) 1.5   (0.22) 3.6   (0.74) 1.9   (0.38)
20121 408   (38.9) 198   (27.5) 210   (28.6) 157   (22.7)   (†) 137   (20.9) 2.5   (0.23) 2.4   (0.33) 2.6   (0.34) 1.8   (0.25) 3.4   (0.77) 3.8   (0.56)
20131 456   (39.3) 284   (31.0) 172   (22.6) 190   (25.1) 107   (19.6) 119   (20.1) 2.8   (0.24) 3.5   (0.37) 2.2   (0.28) 2.2   (0.29) 4.5   (0.82) 3.3   (0.56)
                                                                         
20141 417   (37.8) 241   (27.3) 176   (23.6) 192   (24.5)   (†) 129   (23.9) 2.6   (0.23) 3.0   (0.33) 2.2   (0.30) 2.2   (0.28) 2.5   (0.64) 3.7   (0.67)
20151 349   (39.2) 165   (25.3) 183   (28.1) 156   (22.3)   (†) 110   (20.5) 2.2   (0.24) 2.0   (0.31) 2.3   (0.36) 1.8   (0.26) 2.6   (0.73) 3.1   (0.55)
20161 377   (35.7) 198   (26.3) 180   (23.7) 185   (23.4)   (†) 105   (20.0) 2.3   (0.22) 2.4   (0.32) 2.3   (0.30) 2.2   (0.27) 2.9   (0.71) 2.7   (0.52)
†Not applicable.
‡Reporting standards not met (too few cases for a reliable estimate).
1 Beginning in 2010, standard errors were computed using replicate weights, which produced more precise values than the generalized variance function methodology used in prior years.
NOTE: Data are as of October of each year. Excludes students who were reported as being in a higher grade the previous year than the given year. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Totals include other racial/ethnic groups not separately shown. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, October, 1994 through 2016. (This table was prepared December 2017.)

2017 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest