Digest of Education Statistics
2018 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 2017
[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)
2010 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)
2011 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)
2012 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)
2013 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)
                                                                         
2014 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)
2015 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)
2016 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)
2017 1,082   (57.3) 608   (44.0) 474   (37.0) 540   (42.3) 218   (29.3) 244   (30.2) 2.1   (0.11) 2.3   (0.17) 1.9   (0.15) 2.1   (0.16) 3.1   (0.41) 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)
2010 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)
2011 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)
2012 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)
2013 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)
                                                                         
2014 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)
2015 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)
2016 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)
2017 611   (42.3) 350   (31.1) 261   (27.2) 312   (31.9) 133   (23.6) 130   (22.0) 1.8   (0.12) 2.0   (0.17) 1.5   (0.16) 1.8   (0.18) 2.7   (0.48) 1.5   (0.25)
                                                                         
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)
2010 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)
2011 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)
2012 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)
2013 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)
                                                                         
2014 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)
2015 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)
2016 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)
2017 471   (38.7) 258   (29.2) 213   (26.0) 229   (29.4)   (†) 113   (18.2) 2.9   (0.23) 3.1   (0.35) 2.6   (0.32) 2.6   (0.34) 3.9   (0.82) 3.0   (0.47)
†Not applicable.
‡Reporting standards not met (too few cases for a reliable estimate).
NOTE: Prior to 2010, standard errors were computed using generalized variance function methodology rather than the more precise replicate weight methodology used in later years. 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 2017. (This table was prepared March 2019.)

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