More kids are repeating a grade. Is it good for them?

Braylon Price, 13, pauses on his way home from Bellefonte Middle School Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022, in Bellefonte, Pa. The teenager was among more than 45,000 Pennsylvania students whose parents elected to take advantage of a new state pandemic-era law option of holding their child back a year in school. He repeated the sixth grade. (AP Photo/Gary M. Baranec)

By BROOKE SCHULTZ and HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH / Associated Press/Report for America September 1, 2022 6 min read

This story was corrected at 4:41 p.m. on Sept. 2 to reflect that a total of 26 states and Washington, D.C., provided data on grade retention for the recent academic year.

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HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — As Braylon Price remembers it, he struggled with pretty much everything the first full school year of the pandemic. With minimal guidance and frequent disruptions, he had trouble staying on top of assignments and finishing homework on time.

It was so rocky his parents asked for him to repeat sixth grade — a decision they credit with getting him on a better track.

“At first I didn’t really want to do it,” said Braylon, now 13. “But then later in the year I thought it would probably be better for me if I did.”