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.
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