Parents of school-aged children (6 years and older) were asked if their children had repeated one or more grades since starting school. Overall, 11.3 percent of children have repeated a grade. Children in rural areas are slightly more likely than children in urban areas to repeat a grade. Of children in urban areas, 10.8 percent have repeated a grade, compared to 13.1 percent in large rural and 13.3 percent in small rural areas.

In general, boys, older children, and children from families with lower incomes are most likely to repeat a grade. Among boys, the rate of repeating a grade is lowest in urban areas (12.8 percent) and highest in small rural areas (16.4 percent). The differences across locations among girls are less noticeable, and rates are actually highest in large rural areas. Among children aged 6-11 years, the lowest rate also occurs in urban areas (8.2 percent) and the highest rate occurs in small rural areas (11.4 percent). The rates among older children display a similar pattern, although, as with girls, the highest rates occur in large rural areas.

Children with lower family incomes are more likely to repeat a grade in rural areas while children with higher family incomes are more likely to do so in urban areas. Among children with family incomes below the Federal poverty level, 27.2 percent in small rural areas repeated a grade compared to 20.7 percent in urban areas. Among children with the highest family incomes, 5.4 percent in urban areas repeated a grade compared to 4.3 percent in small rural areas.