Children's Progress Through School: A Research Note

This article investigates the likelihood that a child is enrolled below the grade that is modalfor his or her age. The research is exploratory and demographic but unique in its choice of dependent variable, in its focus on ethnic differences (particularly between Hispanics and non-Hispanics), and in the attention that is paid to family compositional variation in school progress. Socioeconomic differences and, to a much lesser extent, family compositional differences among Hispanic, black, and white children in large part explain the higher rates of grade retention among minority children. One strong effect of family compositional factors occurs for Hispanic children: Children in single-parent families are much more likely to be enrolled below mode than children living with both parents.