Chris Patterson Retention Quotations

Texas' current retention policy has not demonstrated any evidence of improving student success. It has not materially improved our high school graduation rate, nor has retention resulted in improved academic proficiency of graduates.

Clearly, the retention policy suffers design flaws. If retention's purpose is to produce more academically able students, the loophole in state policy that allows large numbers of failing students to bypass retention needs to be closed. What good is retention if it doesn't help educational outcomes?