Starting Kindergarten

1. Starting Kindergarten • What is the best age?

2. The factor most often used to determine entrance to kindergarten was age. (Saluja, 2000) June 1 July 1 Aug. 15, 31 Sept. 1, 2, 10, 15, 30 Oct. 1, 15, 16 Dec. 1, 31 Jan. 1 District decision in five states State Entrance Comparisons

3. What if my child will be among the youngest in his class? • Delay? • Enter on time?

4. Entrance Age Dilemma • Is it better for the child to enter on time or to delay entry in order to become one of the oldest in the class?

5. Academic Redshirting • Holding back to get ahead

6. Who is Held Out? • Males • Caucasians • Middle + SES • Born second half of the year

7. 9% of all 1st and 2nd graders had been held out of kindergarten 3rd quarter = 11% 4th quarter = 13% (NCES)

8. RacialDivide • White, non-Hispanic twice as likely as Black, non-Hispanic to have been held back

9. Redshirts • 360,000 yearly

10. Difficulties Interpreting Research • Mixed results • Youngest and oldest groups vary • Subjective vs. objective measures • Differences in school expectations • Controls for intelligence

11. Social-emotional differences Achievement differences ResearchStudies

12. Social-Emotional • Do the youngest children in a group exhibit poor social skills? • Do they have problems adjusting?

13. So… • If the children who delay entrance are from economically advantaged families… • If those advantaged children have higher achievement… then… • Differences in achievement may be just differences due to economic advantage. • (DiPrima, 1991)

14. Social Skills • Study Description: Sociometric interviews at kindergarten and 1st grade, teacher ratings, report cards, and self-reports • Findings: No differences in self-reported school adjustment, loneliness, perceptions of competence, or social acceptance related to school entry age.” • (Spitzer, 1995)

15. Social Skills • Study Description: Parents and teachers rated second graders’ social skills. Those ratings were compared to kindergarten entrance age. • Findings: Kindergarten entrance age was not a predictor of later social skills. • (Springer, 1997)

16. (Spitzer, cont.) • Findings: • Peer ratings of social acceptance not related to age in K or 1st grade • No report card differences in social development (but teachers said older children had better social skills). • Report cards did not reflect differences in physical skills, language, or math.

17. (Spitzer, cont.) • “Being among the youngest in the class was not related to either rejected or neglected social status.” • “…younger children were not at a social disadvantage.” (supports earlier research)

18. Social Skills • Study Description: Used report card checklist of conduct • Findings: No conduct differences between youngest and oldest groups • (DiPrima, 1991)

19. Social Skills • Study Description: Looked at scores on the standardized Behavioral Problem Index. Parent reports (Nationally representative sample) • Findings: 12% of held back children scored above 90th percentile (compared to 7% of children who entered on time). Rates increased with age. (Caucasians only) • (Byrd, 1997)

20. Social Skills • Study Description: Parent reports about 1st and 2nd graders (from national survey 1993 and 1995) • Findings: For 1993 survey, parents reported that held out children had fewer negative comments from teachers than did children who had entered on time. • (Zill, 1997)

21. Social Skills • Study Description: Looked for correlation between age and referrals for psychological services. • Findings: No differences related to age • (DeMeis, 1997)

22. Con: • “Children whose family income, background or circumstances put them most at risk for school failure remain at risk when they enter kindergarten a year older than their peers.” • (Ginsberg, 1999)

23. Academic Achievement • Does redshirting provide academic advantage?

24. Academics • Study Description: Used grades and standardized test results on large urban sample (longitudinal study) • Findings: Older entrants did slightly better in 1st grade due to math scores. • Four years later differences had disappeared • (DiPrima, 1991)

25. Academics • Study Description: Matched held back and on-time entrants for I.Q. and gender. Compared scores on standardized achievement tests at 4th and 5th grades. • Findings: Composite test scores were higher for held back children. Held back boys scored higher in reading. • (Crosser, 1991)

26. Achievement • “Age at entrance was a far less powerful predictor than the socioeconomic variables in our covariate set.” • (DiPrima, 1991)

27. Academics • Study Description: National, longitudinal K-5 study • One-on-one assessments, teacher questionnaire, parent interview • Findings: Children who were a year older outperformed younger children born Sept.-Dec. • (America’s Kindergarteners, 2000)

28. America’s Kindergarteners, cont. • Parents and teachers reported more task persistence in older children. • Reading, Math, and General Knowledge scores decreased with age at entry.

29. America’s Kindergarteners, cont. • Data collected fall, 1998 • Baseline data • Does not reflect school achievement so must not be misinterpreted.

30. Academics • At the end of the kindergarten year, both groups had made a year’s growth. • Children were learning at about the same rate but they were learning different things. • (The Kindergarten Year, 2000)

31. Academics • Study Description: Looked at age and related referrals for special programs • Findings: No differences between young vs. old groups in academic difficulties • (DeMeis, 1992)

32. Academics • Study Description: Looked at achievement scores at the end of kindergarten • Findings: No differences by age if entered preschool at age 3. But, if children entered preschool at ages 4 or 5, the older ones scored higher. • (Gullo and Burton, 1992)

33. Academics • Study Description: Iowa Test of Basic Skills to measure achievement for redshirts and on-time entry (controlled for I.Q.) • Findings: “Redshirts, however, did not appear to gain any advantage in achievement as a result of delaying school entry.” • (Cameron, 1990)

34. Academics • Study Description: Review of entrance age literature • Findings: School age does not affect academic achievement • Both younger and older groups made a year’s progress • (Narahara, 1998)

35. Academics • Description: Reading and math standardized achievement test comparisons old K, young 1st, older 1st • Findings: At end of 1st grade children made the same progress • (Morrison, 1997)

36. Morrison, cont. • Differences were starting age differences. • Entrance age was not a good predictor of academic achievement.

37. Academics • Study Description: Achievement test scores and teacher ratings of Head Start graduates • Findings: Intelligence, not entry age, predicted achievement and ratings • (Grenninger, 1997)

38. Achievement • Study Description: Compared delayed entry and retained children at grades 2, 5, 7 • Findings: “With intelligence controlled for, delayed entry does not lead to achievement advantages.” It is an “ineffective intervention” to homogenize the classroom. • (Kundert, 1995)

39. Achievement • Study Description: Parent reports about 1st and 2nd grade children who delayed or repeated kindergarten. (1993, 1995 National Survey) • Findings: (1993) Delayed entry received less negative teacher feedback. (1995) Delayed entry were less likely to have been later retained. • Delayed entry performed as well as those who started when eligible. Delaying does not appear to help or harm later school performance. • (Zill, 1997)

40. Achievement • Study Description: Report cards (Kindg.) • Findings: Language and math skills were not a function of age. • (Spitzer, 1995)

41. Academics • Study Description: Compared referrals to special programs by age. • Findings: Younger children qualified for gifted programs at the same rate as older children. • (DeMeis, 1992)

42. Implications • Curricular • Personal • Social Policy

43. 360,000 Held Out Each Year