Education professionals from across Maryland testified before the State Board of Education on Tuesday, expressing apprehension about a proposed policy that would require students to repeat third grade if they don’t read at grade level, noting that there can be adverse effects that come with grade retention, particularly on marginalized students.
Michelle Corkadel, the president of the Maryland Association of Boards of Education, said research indicates that students who are held back experience adverse impacts on their academic self-concept, self-confidence, pleasure in learning, motivation, behavior and interpersonal relationships. She expressed concern that parents would not understand the long-term consequences of retention, and would be unable to make informed decisions about their children’s education path.
Additionally, Corkadel said that retained students are more likely to be suspended in subsequent academic years, and their risk of dropping out nearly doubles.
She also implored the board to consider school budgets, which are already tight and could be further strained by the costs of professional development, extended school programs and logistical adjustments for increased retention.
“For many school systems, the current budgets do not have the ability to absorb these new expenses without cutting other vital programs,” Corkadel said. “Without additional funding, many school systems may find it difficult to sustain the level of support and training required by this policy, potentially compromising its effectiveness and the overall quality of education.”
Riya Gupta, the incoming interim executive director of Strong Schools Maryland, said that marginalized students, particularly those from low-income households, multilingual students and students of color, are disproportionately retained.
She suggested, instead, that the board prioritize early intervention policies before students reach grade three, as well as family engagement.
“Family engagement requires more than informing or involving them in meetings,” Gupta said. “It involves proactively equipping them with community resources, like public libraries, knowledge and support they need to actively participate in their child’s literacy development … especially those from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds.”
State Superintendent of Schools Carey Wright proposed the policy, which would also provide additional support for struggling readers in kindergarten through third grade, in July. Mandated grade retention was a feature of Wright’s success in raising Mississippi’s low reading scores during her time as the state’s superintendent.
The proposal includes exemptions for some students with disabilities, those with less than two years of instruction in an English language development program, and any who have been held back in earlier grades and received intensive reading intervention for two or more years but still show a reading deficiency.
Leslie Seid Margolis, an attorney for Disability Rights Maryland, said that the exemption policy for students with disabilities “fails” to take students’ individual circumstances into account and “makes assumptions about them based on their disabilities.”
“At a time when expectations for students are rising, expectations for students with disabilities should not be lowered,” she said.
Students would not repeat the third grade more than twice, and a provision has been added to the proposal that would allow parents to opt out of having their child repeat the third grade. Those parents would commit to ensuring their child receives additional support through summer school, tutoring before or after school, or additional support outside school hours.
Maryland State Education Association President Paul Lemle said he has “serious concerns” about the ability of parents to waive retention, saying that it may be overused by affluent families, in turn “widening opportunity gaps.”
The board could vote to approve the policy as soon as September. If approved, the third grade retention policy would take effect during the 2026-’27 school year.
