[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The call for accountability in U.S. schools is gaining intensity. The emergence of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the high dropout rate, and media reports of declining test scores fuel claims that children are not achieving, and that schools do not do enough to ensure that achievement. The resulting rhetoric pits grade retention against social promotion, as if they were the only options. What is wrong with this tired view of schooling? Is grade retention really a viable intervention that can ensure a child's academic achievement? If not, what are the alternatives?
