Many students who are at risk of retention, or having to repeat a year of school, try to their best to avoid this issue on account of their self-esteem and wanting to stay in the same grade level as their friends. 

On the other hand, some people end up falling behind and still end up having to stay behind a year.

It has its pros and cons and it could be really effective at times depending on the students passion. It also has different effects depending on the grade level.

The pros are that they can improve and learn from their mistakes if they repeat the grade. But on the bad side, it might affect their mental health and might mess up some relationships. 

Some schools may have made a good decision to stop retention because a person’s life is more important and has more worth than anything, but it does not necessarily mean it is the best or effective choice. 

“Few students would never learn from their mistakes, and they would never be dedicated,” sophomore Sally Garcia said. “But if they were to repeat, they would have been emotionally or mentally affected and might have learned from their mistake.” 

Most schools actually have some classes if you are struggling in a class. For example, you would take two math classes, where one is just for help and the other is the actual class. 

They also have summer classes, and if students really want to improve on their academic performance, they can stay after school. Still,few students will not take many of these opportunities because, again they can usually just pass on to the next grade level. 

“I had two math classes, and to be honest, it did not help that much, and I feel like it prevented me from doing more important class,” freshman Sahra Omar said.

In conclusion, retention has good and bad effects.

“They should maybe make it the students choice to repeat their classes to learn from their mistake so that way they wouldn’t have to worry about how it would affect their mental health,” freshman Andrea Dunford said.