Recent years have seen an increase in attention to academic responsibility and an emphasis on social advancement. The U.S. Department of Education (1999) reported, “Neither social promotion nor holding children unaided is a successful strategy for improving learning” (p. 4). This push for change has set in motion the question: does retention in the early years represent substantial academic development? “Efficient instruction is important for all children and is critical for children at risk for reading failure, who may have more to learn in less time than their peers” (Musti-Rao & Cartledge, 2007, p .13). The “wait-to-fail” approach, which does not grant students special interventions until after a substantial period of academic failure, is not a viable option for students. The response to intervention model helps teachers anticipate potential learning problems for early intervention (Musti-Rao & Cartledge, 2007, p. 3). There is a wealth of research on these topics as school districts and teachers consider the well-being, including educational success, of their students. The researcher examined current literature, which addressed the topics of school retention and reading intervention in elementary school. The search and literature review articles ranged from 1995 to 2013. These articles consist of over 50 studies, with the results compared and evaluated over a large time span. Researchers examined students' permanent school records, documented students' gender, socioeconomic status, grades maintained or delivered, teacher-assigned grades, reading and math, and students' standardized test scores (Rust & Wallace, 1993). Grade-appropriate standardized testing... middle of paper... d growth: A meta-analysis of assessment data for individual students." Psychology in Schools 49(4), 385-398. Retrieved from www.web. ebscohost.com.ezproxy.cu-portland.Silberglitt, B., Jimerson, S., & Burns, M. (2006). school psychology35(1), 134-141. Retrieved from: http://web.ebscohost.com.ezpoxy.cu-portland.edu/ehost/delivery?sidU.S. Department of Education (1999). to End Social Promotion: A Guide for Educators and State and Local Leaders. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Wilson, V., & Hughes, J. (2010). A Psychosocial Perspective.”Elementary School Journal, 109(3), 251-266. Retrieved from: http://web.ebscohost.com.ezpoxy.cu-portland.edu/ehost/delivery?sid.