This story affirms my own experience as a suburban parent. The kids (who I've known since pre-K) in our neighborhood who were held back for a year are now high-school seniors. Despite being a year older, their academic performance has been slightly below par. One boy ended up being socially isolated because he was big for his age and looked huge in comparison to his younger classmates. I wonder how teachers perceive and treat these children; could it be that, knowing they've been held back, teachers have lower expectations and treat them correspondingly? And maybe the parents themselves expect less?