Failing is so old school: Middle schools try new ways of advancing students who were held back.

Byline: Samiha Khanna

May 30--It's easy to spot middle school students who have been held back. They loom over other students, and sometimes they are taller than their teachers, too. They know their way around every corner of the school. And it seems as though every teacher knows them and their parents.

Now, at many middle schools in the Triangle, teachers, parents and principals say they are going to extraordinary lengths to help overage students catch up.

Letting such students stay behind sharply increases the chances they will drop out once they arrive in high school discouraged, embarrassed and nearly old enough to graduate.

"You've got to confront the brutal facts," said Patrick Rhodes, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction in Durham. "When you have too many students dropping out and you have clear research that shows grade retention does not work, then you need to adjust what you're doing."

The number of high school dropouts is at a five-year high, according to a report released earlier this year. More than 22,000 students in the state left school last year without a diploma. Legislators and local leaders are on a mission to keep kids in school. They're using millions of dollars in grant…