# Is Grade Retention a Magic Reset? Why More Of The Same Fails Struggling Readers (Discover What Your Child Actually Needs Without Repeating A Grade)

An episode of [The Literacy Keys - Dyslexia resources and structured literacy tips by an Orton Gillingham tutor](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1826142266), 14 May 2026, 20 min.

Audio: https://anchor.fm/s/107172a70/podcast/play/120003336/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-4-14%2Fdca34284-1227-818c-aab0-1032cf8bbf2d.mp3

Are you exhausted from the mountain of report cards and school meetings? Do you feel that grade retention is the only option for your child? For a struggling reader or a dyslexic child, repeating a grade without changing the instruction is like asking them to run laps on a sprained ankle. Hope alone isn’t enough. In this episode, I’m breaking down the pros and cons (in plain English) so you can stop second-guessing yourself and make the right decision for your family. We’ll discuss some of the research and what it actually says regarding grade retention, and why your child might not benefit from repeating a grade. They may actually need a different way of learning. I’ve spent years helping kids crack the code, and I want to share what your child needs to succeed. Whether the school is pushing grade retention, or you’re the one considering it, let’s sit down for a chat. After listening, you’ll: Confidently decide if grade retention is the right path for your family or if it’s time to pivot your instructional strategy. Ask the right questions in school meetings that ensure your child gets evidence-based intervention. Reclaim your sanity with a doable, 5-step plan. So if you’re ready to stop the guesswork and get your child the expert, individualized support they deserve, let's talk. Reach out to me at https://theliteracykeys.com/contact/to explore how virtual 1:1 tutoring can change everything for your reader. Please subscribe to the show and share this episode with another parent that you know is losing sleep over this same decision. Chapters: (00:00) Emotional Weight of Grade Retention Decisions (02:18) Defining Grade Retention and Legal Implications for Your Child (08:07) Why Grade Retention Fails Dyslexic and Struggling Students transcript

## Transcript

[0:00] It's the end of the school year and grade retention is being
[0:04] whispered in the hallways. But what if holding your child
[0:08] back a grade, the thing that feels like the only choice you
[0:12] have right now, could actually crush your child more than it
[0:18] helps them? I get how heavy this decision
[0:21] feels in your chest. You're exhausted.
[0:25] Between the report cards, the meetings, and the worry, you're
[0:30] running on empty. Today, you and I are going to
[0:35] walk through the pros and cons of grade retention in plain
[0:40] English so that you can make the best choice for your child and
[0:46] for your family. I'm not going to tell you what
[0:49] to do. I'm going to give you the pros
[0:53] and cons of repeating a grade so that you can make the right
[0:58] decision and be at peace with that.
[1:04] Well, hello everyone. My name is Tracy Young OG Tudor
[1:08] extraordinaire, founder of the literacy keys.com and most
[1:13] importantly, mom of a dyslexic daughter.
[1:17] Welcome to my podcast where you'll discover ways to unlock
[1:21] your child's reading potential. I'll share tips, strategies, and
[1:27] war stories that have happened along the way because everyone
[1:31] deserves to be able to read. So let's get started.
[1:37] Well, hello everyone and welcome back to the Literacy Keys
[1:41] podcast. I'm Tracy Young, Wharton
[1:44] Gillingham trained ultra certified practitioner, mom to
[1:48] an amazing dyslexic daughter, and founder of The Literacy
[1:52] Keys. Now, if you're tuning in for the
[1:54] first time, pull up a chair or keep folding the laundry.
[1:58] I get it, we're all busy. This is a place where we talk
[2:03] honestly about helping our kids who struggle with reading,
[2:07] writing and spelling, and even sometimes math, all while
[2:12] keeping our own sanity as parents because we are part of
[2:16] the equation. Now today we're going to be
[2:19] diving into a timely topic given that it's the end of the school
[2:23] year. Grade retention.
[2:26] Now it's also known as holding a child back and making them
[2:30] repeat a grade. I'm seeing many of you post
[2:35] about this subject because you're confused.
[2:38] So this episode is going to delve into the pros and the cons
[2:45] of grade retention. So many of you are exhausted,
[2:51] you're worried, and most of all, you're wondering whether
[2:55] repeating the grade is a loving thing to do.
[3:00] You're not alone. In the past 10 years, states
[3:04] have passed laws that take the decision of grade retention out
[3:09] of the hands of the school. There are standards that need to
[3:13] be mastered before child can progress to the next grade, and
[3:17] in many states this happens in the third grade.
[3:22] So let's talk about grade retention.
[3:24] Kind of like friends over coffee.
[3:27] The pros along with the real cons, what the research says in
[3:33] plain English, and what you can do to move the needle for kids
[3:39] that struggle to read. Stick with me for the next 20
[3:43] minutes and by the end you'll feel equipped with doable action
[3:48] steps you can take even this week.
[3:53] So let's start with the basics. That's always a good place to
[3:56] start, right? So grade retention simply means
[4:00] that a child stays in the same grade for next two year instead
[4:04] of moving up with their peers. So if for example, they're in
[4:07] the third grade now, then next year they don't go to the 4th
[4:13] grade, they repeat the 3rd grade.
[4:17] Sometimes the school, it's based upon the school's
[4:21] recommendation, sometimes it's based upon parents, and in some
[4:28] states or sometimes it's based upon laws that if a child
[4:35] doesn't achieve a certain reading benchmark, then they are
[4:39] to be retained. So there's a lot that you need
[4:42] to unpack and you need to know where your state stands on this
[4:49] issue. So on the surface, it can feel
[4:53] very compassionate. We're just giving them more time
[4:57] to catch up, right? But as someone who's spent years
[5:02] using structured literacy to help our kids crack the reading
[5:06] code, remember, more of the same usually doesn't work.
[5:14] Now, I said in the beginning I wanted to provide both sides of
[5:17] the equation, and I'm not going to tell you what to do.
[5:19] I'm not making the decision for you.
[5:22] So let's start with the pros of grade retention.
[5:26] Some parents and educators point out that an extra year can give
[5:32] a child time to mature emotionally or even socially.
[5:38] So, for example, if your child is one of the youngest kids in
[5:41] the grade because of their when their birthday falls, right,
[5:47] maybe they're struggling with focus or even organization.
[5:55] Teachers move at a certain pace and they expect the kids to keep
[5:59] up. But sometimes a younger child
[6:02] doesn't have the maturity to be able to keep up.
[6:06] So that extra year might allow the child to be on par
[6:11] developmentally with other kids in the class Continuing along
[6:19] the pros. There's also the argument that
[6:22] repeating the material that they've already seen once can
[6:25] boost short term confidence and test scores.
[6:30] Because in many states, that's what it ultimately comes down
[6:33] to. And in fact, there have been a
[6:37] couple of well known studies, like the ones following
[6:40] Florida's retention policy, that do show that some retained kids
[6:45] scored higher on reading tests in the year or two after they
[6:49] were held back. The idea being that the extra
[6:54] practice lights a fire under the schools and families to pour in
[7:00] extra support. But in those cases, the child
[7:04] isn't just repeating the same failing instruction.
[7:09] They're getting more targeted help.
[7:13] And this really is essential because more of the same gives
[7:19] the same results. And that's not what you want.
[7:23] Let's face it, as parents, we want our kids to feel
[7:26] successful. I get it if your child is coming
[7:30] home in tears because they can't keep up, it's tempting to think
[7:35] that starting over fresh next year will be the reset button
[7:39] that they need. Older parents.
[7:42] Remember when they were in school every year there were few
[7:46] kids who didn't move on to the next grade.
[7:48] And this didn't just happen in 3rd grade, it happened in every
[7:53] grade. Well, that situation no longer
[7:56] happens in most schools, but older parents don't understand
[8:02] what changed. And I'm an older parent, so I
[8:05] get it. So now let's talk a little bit
[8:08] about the cons, the other side of grade retention.
[8:13] Because for the kid who struggles with reading, the
[8:16] research shows that something different is needed.
[8:22] But I don't want to get into the specifics with struggling
[8:25] readers. Let's step back for a minute and
[8:28] talk in broad terms. One of the cons is that there
[8:33] can be an emotional toll. Being the kid who watches their
[8:37] friends move to the next grade right is not a great feeling.
[8:43] Kids know when they're different.
[8:46] They might feel that they're being left behind.
[8:50] And of course, there are studies that show that retained children
[8:53] can experience lower self esteem and more anxiety due to a
[8:58] feeling of not being smart enough.
[9:03] Now, another issue relates to retained students being more
[9:07] likely to drop out of high school later on in their
[9:12] educational career. But in my mind this is a
[9:15] secondary reason because if the underlying issue of being able
[9:21] to read were addressed, then the dropout rate would probably
[9:27] decline. And that's the elephant in the
[9:30] room. So now let's talk specifically
[9:35] about our kids, the struggling readers and the dyslexics,
[9:40] whether they're in upper elementary, middle or high
[9:43] school. Because this is where grade
[9:47] retention can truly miss the mark.
[9:52] Because dyslexia is not about being behind or not being mature
[9:57] enough. It's a different brain wiring in
[10:02] which it's hard to connect sounds to letters, to decode
[10:06] words efficiently, to remember spelling patterns.
[10:11] Even when a child is smart, an extra year in the same classroom
[10:18] with the same approach does not work.
[10:23] They are not going to learn to read simply by holding a book.
[10:29] They need explicit, systematic, multi sensory instruction.
[10:37] Right Hint. Kind of like the Orton
[10:39] Gillingham approach that I'm trained in, so granted I'm
[10:43] biased now. Repeating a grade without
[10:46] changing how we teach reading is like making a kid run laps on a
[10:52] sprained ankle, just hoping that it's all going to work out.
[10:58] Here's another analogy. It's like asking someone with
[11:02] poor eyesight to just try harder to see the blackboard.
[11:08] No, they need glasses. Now please don't take me
[11:11] literally. This is not about the glasses,
[11:14] but it's an analogy that you don't blame the child.
[11:19] They're trying. They're working 10 times harder
[11:25] than most people realize. The brain needs the right type
[11:30] of instruction. It's instruction that's broken
[11:34] down into small steps. It's instruction that has lots
[11:37] of review that incorporates seeing and hearing and touching
[11:42] and feeling the patterns. It's instruction that goes from
[11:46] the simple to the complex. And that's why I'm so passionate
[11:52] about this issue, because I've worked with too many families
[11:57] who were told to give it another year and little Johnny will
[12:01] catch up. But by the time they found me,
[12:04] and whether middle school or high school, the gap had
[12:08] widened, the confidence had eroded, and we had a lot more
[12:13] catching up to do. Remember, early intensive
[12:17] support and intervention beats waiting every single time.
[12:25] All right, so I'm off my soapbox now.
[12:28] Going back to the grade retention problem, any academic
[12:32] improvement can fade if the underlying reason for the
[12:37] struggle isn't fixed. And this is essential because if
[12:41] a child is doing the same curriculum with the same
[12:45] teaching methods that didn't work the first time, by the way,
[12:49] the results are going to be the same.
[12:54] All right, so I've just thrown a lot at you, some of the pros,
[12:58] some of the cons. Where do we net out?
[13:02] Well, what about, I rephrase the question?
[13:06] What about instead of waiting a whole extra year, we talk about
[13:13] actual steps that you can start this week.
[13:17] The first one, Have a discussion with the school schedule a calm
[13:23] conversation with the teacher or the administrative team.
[13:28] Instead of starting with what should we retain?
[13:32] Ask about specific reading intervention.
[13:38] What can be provided? How often will your child
[13:43] receive this instruction? Is this instruction explicit?
[13:49] How are we going to measure progress?
[13:52] Don't wait to see the results at the end of the year.
[13:57] All of these questions ensure that your child will not be
[14:02] getting another year of the same approach That didn't work last
[14:07] time. Let's talk about the second
[14:09] thing you can do. You can get a comprehensive
[14:12] evaluation now. If your child doesn't have a
[14:16] comprehensive evaluation yet, it might be time to push for one.
[14:22] In many states, public schools must evaluate for specific
[14:27] learning disabilities, and a good evaluation will show you
[14:30] exactly where the breakdown is happening.
[14:34] Is it related to phonological awareness?
[14:37] Is it rapid naming? Is it working memory?
[14:41] A comprehensive evaluation is going to pinpoint these issues.
[14:49] Now, you might have to go the private route.
[14:51] And why do I say that? Well, I want you to remember
[14:55] schools do not provide comprehensive evaluations.
[15:00] What schools do they assess for whether a child qualifies for an
[15:06] IEP? And those are two very different
[15:10] questions. I talked about this difference
[15:13] in another episode and I'll provide a link in the show notes
[15:18] because knowledge is power. So let's talk about another
[15:22] thing you can do. You can start at home with an
[15:25] Orton Gillingham based curriculum.
[15:28] There are programs out there that you can purchase that are
[15:32] reasonably priced, that are designed for you, the parent,
[15:38] not for a teacher, and you have the summer to create an
[15:43] intensive remediation effort. This might be just what your
[15:48] child needs to have it all come together.
[15:51] Ask the school if you live in one of the states with the
[15:54] mandatory grade retention. When is the next time that my
[16:00] child can take the exam again? There might be an opportunity to
[16:05] take the exam before the beginning of the next year.
[16:11] And so through an intensive remediation effort over their
[16:15] summer, we are talking four to five days every single day.
[16:21] It might be enough to get them to pass and to continue on to
[16:27] the next grade. Now, I understand that that's a
[16:30] lot. And if you don't have the time,
[16:33] contact me at the Literacy Keys about an intensive tutoring
[16:38] session over the summer. Let's talk about another thing
[16:43] you can do. So if your child qualifies for
[16:46] an IEP or a five O 4, you want to look at the goals that were
[16:52] established. Are they SMART?
[16:55] Right. And the goals pertain to an IEP,
[16:58] not really a five O 4. Five O 4 is about the
[17:00] accommodations. But are those goals explicit,
[17:06] right? Can they be measured?
[17:09] Does it include a systematic phonics intervention delivered
[17:15] by someone who is trained? And attending a weekend workshop
[17:20] is not being trained. You want to ask the difficult
[17:25] questions, and if the school can't provide it, you might want
[17:30] to consider virtual tutoring. Yes, I'm talking about the kind
[17:34] that I provide through the literacy keys.
[17:37] All right, last step that I want to talk to you about.
[17:42] No matter what you decide, talk to your child, they need to know
[17:48] that they're not broken, that with the right tools they will
[17:52] get there. You want to celebrate every
[17:55] small win in order to build confidence, and that's something
[18:01] that no retention policy can manufacture.
[18:05] Let me share a quick story. One of my students was
[18:09] recommended for grade retention back in elementary school.
[18:13] His parents said no and instead we started an intensive OG
[18:18] tutoring 3 to 4 times a week and within six months he went from
[18:23] hating reading to devouring graphic novels.
[18:27] Granted, they were graphic novels, but celebrate every win
[18:31] because over time, we created a reader and remember, it's never
[18:38] too late. Upper elementary, middle school,
[18:42] even high school. The brain is plastic and
[18:45] structured literacy works. I've seen it over and over
[18:50] again. So if this episode hit home,
[18:54] here's what I'd like to ask from you.
[18:57] Subscribe on your favorite podcast at and leave a rating.
[19:03] The algorithm needs it to help other exhausted parents find us.
[19:10] Another thing you can do? Share this episode with someone
[19:14] who's wrestling with the same decision.
[19:18] And lastly, head over to the Literacy keys.com and maybe grab
[19:22] the free Signs of Dyslexia by Age checklist.
[19:27] Remember, your child is lucky to have a parent who cares enough
[19:32] to dig into the hard stuff. Small, consistent steps with the
[19:38] right method add up to a big transformation.
[19:43] It just takes time. So that's it for today.
[19:49] Thank you very much for spending this time with me.
[19:52] I'm cheering for you and for your kids every single episode.
[19:57] So I'll see you next week. Bye for now.
[20:03] Well, that's a wrap. Thank you for listening to the
[20:06] Literacy Keys podcast. Follow us on social media and
[20:11] most importantly, tell a friend. See you next week.

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