<p>The objective of this article is to present the partial results of the research on the incidence of family, pedagogical and personal factors in the grade retention in sixth grade of the Agricultural Technical Educational Institution of the municipality of Santa Sofía, Boyacá. The research has been addressed from the qualitative approach. The population is students who failed sixth grade in 2016, their parents and some teachers. In the data collection, a survey was applied to students and parents and an interview with the teachers. The findings which were found in the development of this study, gave step to determine that among the main causes of grade retention stand out: family factors such as the socioeconomic level of the family and the schooling of parents; personal factors related to motivation, study habits and the performance in the homework. Among the institutional factors, it was found that the teaching methodology and the evaluative practices used are related to the problem.</p>