Does Looping Enhance Student Achievement?

The purpose of this study is to investigate the pros and cons of looping, while discovering its social and academic effects on student achievement. This was done by analyzing the standardized test scores in reading, language arts and math of a control group that did not loop and an experimental group that looped for one year. Results showed there was no significant difference in academic achievement between the group of students that looped and the students that did not loop in grades 4-5. There was statistical significance in the improvement of reading test scores from the students that looped. Although statistical significance was found in these scores, the effect size was very small; therefore generalizations regarding the benefits of looping are inappropriate