Grade Repetition and Primary School Dropout in Uganda

Abstract

Research on education in low-income countries rarely focuses on grade repetition. When addressed, repetition is typically presented along with early school dropout as the “wasting” of educational resources. Simplifying grade repetition in this way often fails to recognize significant methodological concerns and also overlooks the unique insight that can be gained by focusing on repetition. In this article, Sarah Kabay uses mixed methods research to investigate repetition and its association with later school dropout in Ugandan primary schools. In a representative sample of pupils from 136 schools, Kabay finds that in spite of a policy of automatic promotion meant to limit repetition, 88 percent of pupils had repeated a grade and 11 percent had repeated three or more times. Kabay identifies age as a confounding variable for the association between repetition and dropout, and argues that attention should be drawn to the age of entry into schooling and language policy.