Montgomery County

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Age
as a Factor in Readiness
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BY
Colleen Finegan
Early Childhood / Early Childhood Special
Education
Wright State University
www.ed.wright.edu
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
David would be 5 in July. Full of enthusiasm, he
confidently underwent spring kindergarten
screening
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
he school psychologist explained that David
completed the screening with average and
above-average skills, but he had a summer
birthday and he was a
male.
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
The psychologist and the gym teacher agreed that
David would be more successful in school if he
were to postpone kindergarten for 1
year. http//www.ericfacility.net/ericdigests/e
d423079.html
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
David's experience has been repeated over and
over by many children across the
country. http//www.ericfacility.net/ericdigests
/ed423079.html
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
Educators often recommend that children born
during the summer months be given an extra year
to mature so that they will not suffer from the
academic disadvantages of being among the
youngest children in a class.
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tml
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
The practice of delaying children's entry into a
kindergarten program 1 year beyond the
traditional chronological age of their classmates
to help a child be "more ready is a
controversial issue.
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
Small-scale studies of limited geographic areas
suggest that delayed kindergarten entrance
involves anywhere from 9 to 64 of the eligible
kindergarten population (Meisels, 1992).
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
However, data collected for the large-scale
National Household Education Survey (National
Center for Education Statistics NCES, 1997)
indicated that 9 of the first- and
second-graders had been held back from
kindergarten.
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tml
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
Surveyed parents reported that children who had
delayed kindergarten entrance 1 year were most
likely to have been male (64), white (73), and
born between July and December (70).
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tml
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
Parents of higher socio-economic status tend to
hold out their summer-born children more often
than do low socio-economic status parents
(Meisels, 1992).
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
Thereforechildren who may be at academic risk
from factors associated with poverty face the
additional hurdle of being compared to advantaged
children who are 12 to 15 months older.
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tml
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
We should expect that the economically
disadvantaged children may be outperformed by
their classmates who are both chronologically and
developmentally their seniors.
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tml
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
Compared to children born in the first quarter
of the year, children born in the summer months
were twice as likely to have delayed kindergarten
entrance 1 year after they were first eligible.
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tml
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
It is often viewed as a type of
"Academic Redshirting"
after the practice used in college athletics
of using red shirts to differentiate the status
of athletes who sit out 1 year of competition in
order to mature physically.
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
The terms "graying of the kindergarten" have also
been used to describe the practice and effects of
holding children back from kindergarten based on
age alone. (Bracey, 1989 Suro, 1992).
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
Although this practice has been said to reduce
the need for grade retentions and special
education services, the research literature has
yielded contradictory results about the effects
of delayed entry on students.
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
The first National Goal for Education states that
by the year 2000, all children in America will
start school ready to learn. (National
Educational Goals Panel, 1992).
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
A survey of 7,000 K. teachers reported that
they thought more than 35 of the nation's
students were not adequately prepared to begin
school, and that the situation had worsened over
the previous 5 years. (Boyer, 1991).
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
A 1993 survey of K. teachers indicated that
most believed that if a child appeared unready
for kindergarten, the child should wait a year
before enrolling (National Center
for Educational Statistics, 1993).
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
WHAT IS THE BEST AGE FOR CHILDREN TO BEGIN
SCHOOLING?
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
Over the years, the cutoff date for school entry
has become earlier. Each state sets its own
minimum age for entry, and
cutoff dates vary by state by at least 6 months
(NAEYC, 1992)
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
The fact that children enter school in the US
only in the fall of each year means that there
will always be an age span of 1 year or more
within a grade some children will always be the
youngest. (Dieez Wilson, 1985).
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
Few studies have been conducted to examine
whether or not children with summer birthdays do
better academically when they are given the
extra year before kindergarten. http//www.ericf
acility.net/ericdigests/ed423079.html
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
Some research focused on early entrants or
those with learning problems. Some was based on
subjective parent or teacher reports. Some has
failed to looked specifically at summer born
children. http//www.ericfacility.net/ericdigests
/ed423079.html
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
SOME RESEARCH REPORTS ADVANTAGES
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
Students kept out of school until they are older
demonstrate higher levels of academic achievement
and are socially and emotionally better adjusted
than their younger classmates. (Beattie, 1970
Gilmore, 1984 Montz, 1985 Olson, 1989
Rabinowitz, 1989 Sweetland DeSimone, 1987
Uphoff, 1985).
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
SOME RESEARCH REPORTS NO OR ONLY TEMPORARY
DIFFERENCES
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
No differences between students with late or
early birth dates (Dietz Wilson, 1985
Gredler, 1980 Langer et al., 1984 May Welch,
1986)
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
The differences were only temporary and
disappeared in later grades. (Davis, Trimble,
Vincent, 1980 Kinard Reinhertz, 1986).
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
SEVERAL FACTORS
SEEM TO BE RELATED TO THE USE OF DELAYED
SCHOOL ENTRY.
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
There are more children entering K. with pre-K.
experience. There is a push for better
performance on standardized tests . (Elkind,
1986 Spodek, 1985).
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
This has created a downward press on the
academic curriculum. (Connell, 1987 Freeman
Hatch, 1989).
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
This has resulted in the movement of curriculum
content from one grade to an earlier grade,
resulting in more academic demands in
kindergarten. (Boyd, 1989 Bredekamp Shepard,
1989).
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
This contradicts the recommended guidelines for
developmentally appropriate practices in
kindergarten (Bredekamp, 1987).
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
Due to increased demands, many parents are
delaying their child's school entry until child
is older and better able to handle the demands.
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
This practice may contribute to the acceleration
of academic demands, as many K. children are now
older and assumed to be capable of more demanding
work.
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
This in turn results in the perception of the
younger children being unready for school.
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
By keeping some of the unready or younger
children out of K. for a year and placing the
older children who have been held out in K.
classes, the discrepancy between the children's
abilities may become even greater.
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
The students who delay entry may be as much as 2
years older than their younger chronologically
eligible classmates, and they may demonstrate
higher levels of academic abilities, thus
widening the apparent skill gap in the classroom
(Shepard Smith, 1989).
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
Recognizing the demands that increasingly
academic kindergarten programs may place on
children, many psychologists and educators have
expressed concern that young children are not
developmentally ready to deal with the K.
curriculum.
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
There are potential dangers to a child's
motivation and ability to learn when burdened too
early with academic pressures (Elkind, 1981).
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
Children need to be ready to learn but they
developed readiness according to their own
biological time clocks. (Gesell 1930)
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
Pushing children before they are ready results in
failure (Ames, 1986).
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
Placing children based on their behavior age
rather than chronological age could prevent or
cure 50 of school failures (Ilg, Ames, Haines,
and Gillespie, 1978) .
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
It has been proposed that many school problems
(emotional disturbance, learning disabilities,
minimal brain damage, and underachievement) may
result from children being asked to perform at
levels for which they are not developmentally
ready (Levenson, 1977).
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
Many parents who are familiar with these
arguments are keeping their children out of
school for an extra year if they can afford it
(Bredekamp Shepard, 1989).
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
These parents may hope that if their children are
a year older than the rest of the class, they
will do better academically and reduce the
probability of school failure, which in turn
might result in retentions or special education
services (Diamond, 1983 Maddux, 1983 Moore,
1982).
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
Gender differences
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
No exact statistics, but it appears that more
boys than girls are being academically
redshirted (Bredekamp Shepard, 1989
Mergendoller, Bellismo, Horan, 1990).
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
This would support developmental literature,
which suggests that boys mature later than girls,
and consequently need more time before they are
ready for school (Ames, 1967).
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
More boys than girls are retained each year
(King, 1984). Boys outnumber girls in special
education programs (Jackson, 1975 Plummer
Graziano, 1987).
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
Some research indicates that this practice may be
related to parent and teacher perceptions that it
is more acceptable to retain younger students,
particularly boys. (Shepard Smith, 1989)
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
This would be congruent with the developmental
literature, which suggests that boys mature later
than girls, and consequently need more time
before they are ready for school. (Ames, 1967).

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Age as a Factor in Readiness
For parents wanting to avoid early school failure
for their child, delaying entry to K. for a year
might represent a simple means of assisting him
or her to avoid school failure later in their
child's school career. (Diamond, 1983 Langer
et al., 1984)
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
But does delayed entrance actually helps children
avoid school failure?
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
Students who delay entry into K. are less likely
to be retained in a later grade. (Baer, 1958
Ilika, 1969 Kalk, 1982)
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
BUT WHY? Is it really because they are better
able to function in school academically and
socially?
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
OR Are teachers are more reluctant to retain a
student who is already older than the others in
the grade. Teachers may be more likely to try
other interventions or remedial strategies before
retaining an older child.
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
In addition, parents may also be reluctant to
permit a school to retain a child who started
school 1 year past chronological eligibility.
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
Repetition of a grade for an older child should
occur only which retention will result in
positive academic outcomes and when special
remediation is provided along with the grade
repetition . (Holmes, 1989)
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
Even if remediation is provided, students may
perceive retention as personal failure,
experiencing negative social and emotional
consequences.
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
Much has been written about school readiness
issues that focuses on biological immaturity--an
immaturity that will remedy itself with time, not
intervention (Ames, 1986 Gesell Institute of
Human Development, 1982 Ilg et al., 1978).
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
The literature indicates that students who are
old for their grade are at a greater risk of
dropping out of school. (Grissom Shepard,
1989)
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
NAEYC recommends that educators examine the
practices in the early grades and move away from
the high academic demands often found in
kindergarten and first grade classes.
(Bredekamp Shepard, 1989)
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
David is 15 now. When he was 13, he towered above
his classmates as he walked through the halls.
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
The school desks just didn't fit his 6'3" body,
and many of his teachers assumed that he must
have been retained since he was older than the
other students. http//www.ericfacility.net/eric
digests/ed423079.html
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
When asked what grade he is in, David always
makes it a point to explain that he started
kindergarten late. http//www.ericfacility.net/er
icdigests/ed423079.html
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
But David is well liked by students and teachers.
He moved into both puberty and formal operational
thought sooner than his classmates, earning their
admiration. http//www.ericfacility.net/ericdige
sts/ed423079.html
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
Academically, David does average and
above-average work with minimal effort.
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html
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
Did David's parents make the right decision in
holding him out from kindergarten? They don't
know. They will probably never know, but David
thinks he knows the answer. http//www.ericfacili
ty.net/ericdigests/ed423079.html
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
There is more to the issue than academic success.
Physical, social, and emotional development are
also important. The needs of the whole child
must be considered when making decisions about
school entrance or retention. http//www.ericfacil
ity.net/ericdigests/ed423079.html
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
This issue is further complicated by the
individuality of each and every child. We are
different biologically and emotionally with
special characteristics, skills and
needs. http//www.ericfacility.net/ericdigests/ed
423079.html
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
Decisions suggested or made by educators can can
have long-lasting effects. To hold back one
group of children just changes the balance of who
will be the younger children in the class.
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
We may be further disadvantaging the children
that do not need further disadvantaging.
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Age as a Factor in Readiness
No generalization based on age can be made. To do
so excludes children from the advantage of
schooling. Each childs individual needs must be
considered, as we continue to build a stronger
knowledge base upon which to make entrance age
decisions. http//www.ericfacility.net/ericdigest
s/ed423079.html