Predictors of mandatory 3rd grade retention from high-stakes test performance for low-income, ethnically diverse children

As a result of No Child Left Behind, Florida began mandatory 3rd grade retention for children who fail the high-stakes reading Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test [FCAT]. We examined enforcement practices of this policy. We examined a large (N = 27,980), ethnically diverse, urban sample. Of those who took the FCAT reading test in 3rd grade, 15% failed, and of those who failed, only 53% actually repeated 3rd grade. Black and Latino students,...