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Empirical evidence mostly describes the negative effects of grade repetition on academic performance. Nevertheless, the international use of this educational policy is still widespread. In this study, drawing on data for the Spanish case, we provide additional evidence on the need to consider different policies to grade repetition in order to enhance the achievement of low-performers. These alternative policies should be based on two main principles: individualized treatment and early intervention. Results have been achieved from the application of a novel methodology which allows to combine microdata from two international educational assessments La literatura apunta la existencia de efectos negativos de la repetición de curso sobre el rendimiento académico de los alumnos. Sin embargo, en el ámbito internacional muchos países siguen aplicando esa política de forma intensiva. En este estudio, apoyándonos en datos del caso español, aportamos evidencia adicional acerca de la conveniencia de sustituir la repetición por medidas alternativas, las cuales, a partir de los resultados alcanzados, deberían basarse en dos principios básicos: tratamiento individualizado e intervención temprana. Los resultados se han obtenido a partir del empleo de una metodología novedosa que permite la combinación de los microdatos procedentes de dos evaluaciones educativas internacionales

Empirical evidence mostly describes the negative effects of grade repetition on academic performance. Nevertheless, the international use of this educational policy is still widespread. In this study, drawing on data for the Spanish case, we provide additional evidence on the need to consider different policies to grade repetition in order to enhance the achievement of low-performers. These alternative policies should be based on two main principles: individualized treatment and early intervention. Results have been achieved from the application of a novel methodology which allows to combine microdata from two international educational assessments, La literatura apunta la existencia de efectos negativos de la repetición de curso sobre el rendimiento académico de los alumnos. Sin embargo, en el ámbito internacional muchos países siguen aplicando esa política de forma intensiva. En este estudio, apoyándonos en datos del caso español, aportamos evidencia adicional acerca de la conveniencia de sustituir la repetición por medidas alternativas, las cuales, a partir de los resultados alcanzados, deberían basarse en dos principios básicos: tratamiento individualizado e intervención temprana. Los resultados se han obtenido a partir del empleo de una metodología novedosa que permite la combinación de los microdatos procedentes de dos evaluaciones educativas internacionales

A lack of longitudinal data prevents many countries from estimating dynamic models and, thus, from obtaining valuable evidence for policymaking in the field of education. This is the case of Spain, where recent education reforms have targeted secondary schools, but their design has been based on incomplete information regarding the evolution of student performance and far from robust evidence concerning just when educational inequalities are generated. This paper addresses the absence of longitudinal data required for performing such analyses by using a dynamic model with repeated cross-sectional data. We are able to link the reading competencies of students from the same cohort that participated in two international assessments at different ages (9/10 and 15/16) and so identify when educational gaps – in terms of gender, socio-economic status and place of birth – emerge. In addition, we provide new evidence on the effect on achievement of the main policy used in Spain for levelling the performance of secondary school students, namely, grade retention. Our results suggest that educational inequalities in Spain originate in lower educational levels. After controlling for reverse causality, the negative relationship between grade retention and performance at the lower secondary school level persists.

Most recent available evidence points to the scarce efficacy of grade retention for levelling the performance of students. Yet, the fact that many countries persist in applying this measure reflects longstanding traditions, cultural factors and social beliefs as well, it would seem, the lack of robust empirical evidence to do otherwise. We contribute to the literature by analysing the impact of grade retention on the reading competencies of lower secondary school students in Spain, a country where almost one out of every three students will repeat at least one grade by age 16. We overcome the absence of longitudinal data by creating a pseudo-panel that combines microdata from two international assessments, PIRLS and PISA. Having controlled for reverse causality, our study confirms the negative and heterogeneous impact of grade retention. This paper provides new evidence of the pressing need to rethink this educational policy, and our results highlight the importance of early intervention as opposed to only employing remedial measures.