The effects of developmental placement and early retention on children's later scores on standardized tests

The relationship between early school retention as a result of preschool and kindergarten developmental testing and children's later academic achievement was examined. Two hundred twenty-three children were coded as Traditional, Overplaced, or “Buy a Year,” depending on their scores on the Gesell Screening Test and their subsequent school placement. Their performances on the full Gesell Developmental Test, 3rd grade New York State PEP Tests in reading and math, and the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT) were compared. Those children who scored as immature on the Gesell Screening Test and who were retained a year according to the Gesell Developmental Placement Program had the lowest scores on all measures, even though they were almost a year older than the other two groups of children at the time of the PEP and SAT testing.