The information below provides an overview of Dr. Jimerson's professional and scholarly efforts to move beyond grade retention and social promotion, to promote the social and cognitive competence of all students.

Dr. Jimerson contributes to and synthesizes contemporary research related to
grade retention, social promotion, and promoting student success.

Dr. Jimerson is a Professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara with both the Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology program and the Child and Adolescent Development program and with the Center for School Based Youth Development. He has expertise in achievement trajectories, early grade retention, high school dropouts, evaluation of intervention programs for at-risk youth, early reading assessment, developmental psychopathology, school crisis prevention and intervention, and working with bereaved children and families.

Dr. Jimerson's scholarship and contributions to the study of grade retention have been recognized nationally, as he received the Best Research Article Award from the Society for the Study of School Psychology in 1998 and again in 2000. He also received the 2001 Outstanding Research Article of the Year from the National Association of School Psychologists / School Psychology Review. Dr. Jimerson also received the 2002 Early Career Scholar Award from the American Educational Research Association: Division E Human Development. In addition to publishing journal articles and books, Dr. Jimerson has provided lectures and presentations addressing these topics at conferences and other professional sessions throughout the state, across the nation, and around the world.

Amidst an era of "standards and accountability," Dr. Jimerson emphasizes essential research regarding grade retention and social promotion. Given that over 2.4 million children are retained each year costing over 14 billion dollars and a year of these children’s lives, Dr. Jimerson provides both innovative research and a synthesis of research addressing the efficacy of grade retention. Highlights include, a brief overview of the retention research from the past century, emphasizing the long-term correlates (e.g,, high school dropout) and incorporate a transactional-ecological model of development. Dr. Jimerson also provides a brief review of empirically supported alternatives to grade retention with an emphasis on promoting social and cognitive competence.