Low-achieving students in many school districts are retained in a grade in order to allow them to gain the academic or social skills that teachers believe are necessary to succeed academically. This practice is highly controversial, with many researchers claiming that it leads to higher dropout...

Grade retention is a widely used educational policy promoting human capital. However,its benets and costs are still under debate. Retention may aect learning, cognitive and psychologicalcapacities, educational attainment and the lifetime income (through the timingof entry to the labor market)....