This chapter deals with possible stigmatizing effects of retention, exploring children's reactions to the experience of retention by way of interview data secured directly from them. It is important to know whether practices intended to help children are harmful instead. One such apprehension about retention — that it sets children back academically — turns out to be mainly unfounded. Another apprehension is that children are scarred emotionally by retention, and this may be the case even if they are better off academically.

Retainees are conspicuous. Their failure is public. Parents, classmates, and teachers all know who repeaters are. Teachers and parents may not be as blunt in communicating their feelings as are classmates, but if parents doubt repeaters' abilities or if teachers resent having them in their classes, children likely sense such feelings. Most BSS repeaters, in line with retention rates nationally, are held back in grades 1 through 3. In these years children's sense of self and academic self-image are just taking form (see, e.g., Stipek 1984; Weisz and Cameron 1985). At this life stage, when children's personal resources are frail, difficulties in relationships with others carry special weight.

BSS children were initially interviewed during the first quarter of first grade, and then again in the spring, between third-quarter and fourth-quarter report cards. In subsequent years individual interviews were conducted in fall and spring (Years 2, 4, 6, 7, and 8).