Schools Strategically Use Grade Retention to Influence Class Sizes
Research
Whether students have to repeat a class does not necessarily depend solely on their individual school performance. Instead, schools can also use their scope for decision-making when it comes to promoting students to the next grade so as to influence the number and size of classes per grade. Since the financing of schools depends on the number of classes, decisions on repetitions can be based on strategic considerations in individual cases. This is particularly pronounced in the first grade of primary school, when students are not yet graded and schools have greater discretion in retention decisions, according to the findings of an empirical study conducted by ZEW Mannheim.
The study is based on data from the State Statistical Office of Saxony, which covers all of the state’s public primary schools for the school years from 2004/05 to 2014/15. In this period the maximum class size in Saxony was set at 28 students per class. Generally, students in Germany are required to repeat a school year if they receive the worst or second worst grade in at least one subject. However, the final decision on whether or not a student is promoted to the next grade is at the discretion of the school management and the class’ teaching staff. In Saxony, grades are only awarded from the second grade onwards. However, with parental approval children can be retained in first grade.
As the study shows, in ambiguous cases, retention decisions can also be made based on strategic considerations on the part of the teachers and the school management. By deciding on promotions or repetitions, schools may be able to influence the total number of classes in a school and keep class sizes small. This is in the interest of the schools because their budget depends on the number of classes taught. Smaller classes are also popular with parents and teachers. It is therefore worth promoting weak students to the next grade if this leads to a class being divided into two smaller classes or not being merged with another class.
Both retentions and repetitions influence the class size
At the same, class sizes can also depend on the number of repeaters. For example, if the provisional number of students is close to a multiple of the class size cap, a small number of repeaters from the year above may be decisive for setting up an additional class. Schools can also use this method to try to prevent classes from being merged. As the study shows, about 8.3 per cent of all students who repeat the first or third grade of primary school in Saxony are retained due to strategic considerations concerning the next grade. On the other hand, students are often prevented from repeating a year if this reduces the likelihood that their own class will be merged with another, or if an additional parallel class can be formed.
“We can observe that retentions are less frequent when the number of students in a class is close to a multiple of the class size cap,” says Maximilian Bach, a researcher in ZEW’s “Labour Markets and Human Resources” Department and author of the study. “If it were not for strategic considerations, the share of retentions in the first grade would be about 4.9 per cent higher. However, such deliberate retentions not only have an impact on class size, but can also directly influence the well-being and educational success of the students concerned.”
Scope for discretion is particularly great in the first grade
In the first grade, the strategic nature of retention decisions are most clearly visible. According to the study, one reason for this is that changes in class size from the first grade onwards are more permanent than in higher grades. On the other hand, teachers in the first school year have the greatest scope for decision-making when it comes to promotions as students do not yet receive grades then. In addition, it is easier for the school management to change the number of classes of the yet unenrolled first grade as this does not involve splitting up existing classes.
The retention situation highlighted in the study reflects a conflict of interest between the school authorities, which manage the financial resources, and the individual schools, which aim to secure as many of these resources as possible. “Primary schools are usually small, so an additional class would have a major impact on the overall budget,” says Maximilian Bach. “Since school authorities do not monitor the performance of individual students, schools are able to strategically exploit class retentions under certain circumstances. In cases of doubt, not only the performance of the students but also the effects on the size and number of classes can be a decisive factor for the promotion.”