Response to Intervention and Retention for Children with Specific Learning Disabilities: Differences in Academic Achievement between Retained and Non-Retained Students

Abstract

Research indicates that the practice of grade-level retention may have negative effects on students; nevertheless it is often used in practice for students who fail to meet academic standards. In contrast to retention, response to intervention (RtI) is a sound practice that is based on a preventive framework and utilizes differentiated instruction and progress monitoring to meet student needs. The present study examined a sample of students from a district where RtI implementation was being scaled-up, but retention also occurred. Academic assessment data for those students identified as having specific learning disabilities in the area of reading were examined to determine whether there were differences between students who were retained prior to referral and their non-retained peers. Results indicated that the retained students performed significantly worse on the reading comprehension and math domains of the standardized academic tests and had fewer progress monitoring data points collected prior to referral for evaluation. The results suggested that retention may have offered little academic skills benefit and, perhaps, even a delay in the time to eligibility for special education. The implications for the impact of retention on academic skills are discussed and future directions for research are presented.