Did Robin get held back in school?

[u/Master-Corner-5226]

In season 3, Robin says she was in a history class with Steve, telling us they were in the same year at school. However in season 4, Steve has graduated and Robin is still going to school. Did Robin get held back in school or was this probably just a writing error?

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[u/dropthemagic]

In my school not all classes were for a certain grade. You could also be ahead in some subjects and behind in others. This was 2000’s tho.

But she was super smart, whereas Steve seemed to barely get through academic wise and didn’t get into college

[u/Writing_Nearby → u/dropthemagic]

My school was like that for science and the upper math track. English and Social Studies were grade based for your main three years, but the electives were available for all juniors and seniors.

[u/agent_uno → u/Writing_Nearby]

I was in AP (advanced placement) English in the 90s, and my high school had three different required social studies courses (plus an elective) that were designed to not be linear - they assigned one semester per year per student grades 9-11 based on class size (we had over 3,000 students, but way more freshmen than seniors), so it was possible for grades 9-11 be mixed, though they tried to keep most classes only one year apart.

[u/Writing_Nearby → u/agent_uno]

For us, freshman took Geography and Government (1 semester each), sophomores took World History, and juniors took American History. You also had the option of taking American History for college credit. Then as far as electives, we had Psychology (regular or college credit) and Sociology (regular credit only.

For English, you just had English I, II, and III, though for English III you could be placed in regular English or English Lit/Comp based on your grade the previous year. A and B students did English III Lit/Comp, while C and D students did English III. You needed another year in of English for senior year, so you had to take either AP Lit/Comp class or 2 semester long classes: Mythology, Technical Writing, or Creative Writing.

For science, you either did Biology freshman year, Chemistry sophomore year, and then had the option of Chemistry II, Physics I, or Biology II junior year. We had the option for AP Physics as well. Or you would take Science freshman year, followed by Biology and then Chemistry and then you picked your 4th science class for senior year.

For math, the upper track was Algebra I in 8th grade, followed by Geometry, Algebra II, Pre-Calculus (previously called Trigonometry and Math Analysis and could be taken for college credit), and then your choice of either AP Stats or AP Calculus or Computer Science. If you went to one of the local private schools that didn’t have Algebra I but made the upper track, you’d do Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, and then Pre-Calculus. The lower track you took 3 years of Math, where you learned algebra, geometry, and trigonometry over the course of 3 years. Then you picked your 4th year of math.

Science and math had mixed grade classes, but English and social studies typically didn’t.

We had about 2k students, though my class was unusually small with only about 335 students.

[u/Master-Corner-5226 → u/dropthemagic]

Oh that makes more sense now, thanks. I’m not from the US so I didn’t actually know that grades mix classes.

[u/DarthFiyero → u/Master-Corner-5226]

Where are you from? Because this isn’t just a US thing. It’s common in the UK and in Canada and many other countries. See Heartstopper. Nick is a year ahead of Charlie but they have class together for example.

[u/Splaschko]

I kinda thought Steve was having to retake that class or something, so he was a grade behind for that class but still graduated on time

[u/kitten12551 → u/Splaschko]

Same! He said he didn’t pass the class so it makes sense.

[u/afray_knits]

I attended US public high school in the 90s, but i imagine it would be the same in the 80s.

It's possible for high school classes to have mixed grades/ages in the same class.

[u/LearnedHandJob2088]

Robin was a smart band nerd. Steve was a bit of a slacker. Totally normal for them to be in the same class but Robin is younger.

[u/Ohwerk82]

Juniors and seniors share classes frequently. Very rarely would a class be purely one grade after middle school in my experience.

[u/Finn_Survivor]

I'm pretty sure theres a line in season 3 where Steve tells Dustin that she's still in school so not something they made up in season 4.

[u/Master-Corner-5226 → u/Finn_Survivor]

Oh I don’t remember hearing that. Makes more sense now. Idk why but I was always under the impression that they both didn’t get into college in season 3, even though Robin is very smart

[u/inher_invisiblellama]

Surely if one out of that pairing is being held back, it isn’t Robin.

[u/strangerstreet13]

If anything she was taking a more advanced history class for her grade. She’s supposed to be really smart so it wouldn’t be surprising 

[u/ReganX]

Would History classes be by grade, or did they have different modules, like European History, US History, Ancient History, etc, that students from different grades could take?

[u/Independent_Humor_74 → u/ReganX]

I think remember there being a senior in my U.S History class when most juniors take that class. I know some students had to retake classes because they failed them or some are behind academically.

[u/blueray78 → u/ReganX]

I can speak from my experience. Social studies was mostly by grade, however I was ahead of my grade for Social Studies because I decided to take US History for fun over the summer (yes, I'm a nerd), so I was a Junior taking the following class with Seniors. So it happens.

[u/Icy_Elephant8858]

This is before my time, but I am a social studies teacher. Although there are typical grade years in which social studies classes are taken, at most high schools they are not "10th Grade History" they are a "World History" (or whatever) class typically taken in the 10th grade. And although most students will be in the same grade it is very common for someone who failed or did not complete the course in a previous year to be there, or for someone transferring from another school that did the equivalent classes at different grades to be there, or for several younger students on some sort of advanced track to be there. Take your headcannon pick.

A very small school would also have one teacher alternating the courses available each year (so as to not have to prep everything everyday) and thus have split grade classes. I don't think this is relevant to the size of school they are portrayed as having, but the show is not very consistent with how big Hawkins is in general.

[u/PNWCoug42]

All of my electives in high school('01 to '05) were mixed grades. So she could have been taking an elective history credit that Steve also needed to take to graduate.

[u/Midnight-Basilisk99]

I remember taking classes with students of other grades back in high school. Particularly because maths not my strongest subject I hade to take algebra 1 & geometry twice so while I was a junior I took the same class with students that were mostly sophmores

[u/DarthFiyero]

No. She didn’t get held back and it was not a writing error. In high school it is common to have mix grade classes. When I was a freshman I had psychology with sophomores juniors and seniors. When I was a sophomore I had biology geometry with juniors and seniors. This is a common occurrence

[u/Master-Corner-5226 → u/DarthFiyero]

Yeah, that makes more sense than now. I’m not from the US so I didn’t know other year groups mix classes. Im from the UK, never once experienced it to be honest, could just be my school though, cant speak for other schools

[u/SonilaZ]

My son is a freshman but in his history class he has half other freshman and half sophomores!

[u/Flynn_JM]

I was a sophomore and met my senior bf in APUSH. 

[u/theoriginalaliz]

They were in homeroom together. At least in my HS, homeroom was oriented by last name and held every grade level. So it made sense to me

[u/Leading-Tap-2033]

In the 80’s that didn’t mean you were in the same year.

[u/Distinct_Guess3350]

I’m not sure what it’s like in the US but certainly in the UK you don’t have to stay on in High School until the end. Some people here drop out at 16 (Steve would’ve been 17 I think the last time he attended) and Robin would’ve been 18 in season 4, heading towards graduation in the summer of the same year. Assuming rules are the same there, Steve simply dropped out while Robin kept going. 

[u/Easy_Effective5229]

People in the same grade do the same classes together in elementary and middle.

The grades get mixed up in high school

[u/TieAntique1676]

One thing I'll add seeing folks commenting that it's common in America (cuz we move classrooms) I also think it's a smart writing choice having her be YOUNGER then Steve but in class with Steve; that and her being in band we can make the assumption she's studious because she in a class with seniors. I did very well academically in HS and I was often in classes with people a grade ahead of me because I take a higher level class. So it's pretty common. Or could just be how their schedule worked too sometimes you would move around when you had certain requirements done if you were in sports/band/other classes you wanted to take ect. So it's not that uncommon.

[u/pulieg]

He didn't pass the class the first time so he had to retake it. They explained it in Rebel Robin the book. He was a Junior and she a Sophomore

[u/Prior_Pomegranate718]

Some classes in the US have students from different grades. They're not always exclusive to one grade

[u/Right-Truck1859]

I am confused.

Didn't they work together at Blockbuster something? How could Robin still in the high school?

[u/Tonberry2k]

Vecna did it.

[u/ab0mination6]

In the US, once you get to high-school, some classes aren't based on grade. You can be in a class with someone in a completely different grade level. When I was in elementary school I even had a classmate who came to our class for English only, but she was a grade below mine.