May/June 1999

Age of School Entry: States Enter the Fray
By Karen Kelly

Since the early 1960s, the age at which states allow children to enroll in kindergarten has steadily climbed. In 1963, according to the Educational Research Service, 14 percent of states required kindergartners to be five on the first day of school. Today, 50 percent do so.

But it is not clear that raising the age of entry is effective in ensuring success in kindergarten. A review of the research, published in 1997 by the California Research Bureau, noted some evidence that supported this policy and some that did not. For instance, a 1997 national longitudinal survey based at the University of Rochester suggested that there are benefits to starting later. The study followed 948 children from kindergarten through 6th grade, comparing those who had birthdays after January 1 with their classmates. The younger children, especially the boys, had academic and behavior problems that lingered six years later.

But another study, published in Developmental Psychology that same year, compared older kindergartners with younger and older 1st-graders. Of the 539 students, "younger 1st-graders made as much progress over the school year as did older 1st-graders and made far more progress than older kindergartners. Overall, the findings demonstrated that, in itself, entrance age was not a good predictor of learning or academic risk."

Some researchers, including Sam Meisels of the University of Michigan, argue that age of entry can make a difference for disadvantaged children, who, if not enrolled in school, may not be able to attend a high-quality preschool or daycare instead. For such children, argues Meisels, waiting a year can have significant drawbacks. Postponing school, he notes, can place an economic burden on many parents and also "delays the children's entry into a rich learning environment."

With those students in mind, some school districts are moving in the other direction and dropping the age of entry into kindergarten. In Cambridge, MA, 4-year-olds have been welcome for about a decade. The district has the youngest cutoff date in the stateÑentrants must turn four by March 31 of the year they will start school. But those who become eligible in January, February, or March are required to stay in kindergarten for two years.

Regardless of the cutoff date, Meisels says, there will always be a two-year range in ability in any kindergarten class. Someone will be the youngest and someone will be the oldest. The corresponding advantages, or disadvantages, are still unclear.

For further information

P.L. de Cos. "Readiness for Kindergarten: What Does It Mean?" Sacramento: California Research Bureau, California State Library, December 1997.

F.J. Morrison, D.M. Alberts, and E.M. Griffith. "Nature-Nurture in the Classroom: Entrance Age, School Readiness, and Learning in Children." Developmental Psychology 33, no. 2 (1997): 254-262.

M. Weitzman, R.S. Byrd, and P. Auinger. "The Behavioral and EducationalConsequences of Early School Entry." presented at the 37th annual meeting of the Ambulatory Pediatric Association, Washington, DC, May 1997.