School entrance age

Childhood Education, Spring 1998 by Cesarone, Bernard

Recent ERIC documents and journal articles that discuss issues related to children's age at entry into school are summarized in this column. For details about ERIC and ordering ERIC documents, please see the information following these abstracts.

ERIC Documents

ED400067

WHAT IS THE EFFECT OF SCHOOL ENTRANCE AGE ON THE READING READINESS ACHIEVEMENT OF KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS? Lois Parks. 1996. 12 pp. This study examined the relationship between age at school entry and reading readiness in kindergarten. Subjects included 30 kindergarten students at a Chicago parochial school in a low socioeconomic status neighborhood. The findings indicated that mean age at school entry was 64.39 months; the mean Prereading Composite score from the Metropolitan Readiness Test was 52.53. The correlation between age at school entry and reading readiness was .96.

ED395270

THE EFFECTS OF SCHOOL ENTRY AGE AND GENDER ON READING ACHIEVEMENT SCORES OF THIRD GRADE STUDENTS. Lois Quinlan. 1996. 49 pp. This report describes a study that examined whether a child's gender or age at school entry affects academic achievement. The study hypothesized that a low correlation exists between the chronological age at which a child enters kindergarten and the child's reading ability in 3rd grade, and that reading achievement is not affected by gender differences. Using cumulative records, data were gathered on each student's birthdate, gender and national percentile rank composite reading score on the Metropolitan Achievement Test (MAT) given in the 3rd grade. The population was divided into early, medial and late entrants. Results supported both hypotheses.

ED379633

THE EFFECTS OF SCHOOL ENTRY AGE AND GENDER ON READING ACHIEVEMENT SCORES OF SECOND GRADE STUDENTS. Carol M. Trapp. 1995. 44 pp. A study sought to find out if school entry age or gender had any effect on the reading achievement of 2nd-grade students, as measured by scores on the California Achievement Test. Results indicated that late starters scored significantly better than early starters.

ED364320

THE RELATIONSHIP OF GENDER, ETHNICITY, AND HOME LANGUAGE TO AGE OF SCHOOL ENTRY, KINDERGARTEN RETENTION AND SOCIAL PROMOTION. Merith Cosden, Jules Zimmer & Maria Gutierrez. 1993. 24 pp. Over the past 10 years, kindergarten classes have escalated their academic demands in order to prepare children for 1st grade. In tandem with these curricular changes, many parents have elected to "hold out" their children from 1st grade for an additional year, and schools are using kindergarten retention more and more in response to early school failure. This paper reports an assessment of the impact of student characteristics on delayed school entry and retention or promotion practices. Data on Latino and Anglo kindergarten students in a California school district were analyzed, including student age, gender, ethnicity, home language, age of entry, and decisions regarding grade retention, promotion and advancement. Findings indicated that: 1) boys started school at 67.5 months and girls at 66.7 months; 2) neither ethnicity nor home language influenced the age of school entry; and 3) children in the youngest part of their cohort were more likely than older children to be held out, retained or recommended for retention.

ED335131

ENTRANCE AGE AND VISUAL MOTOR INTEGRATION. Elizabeth Foote. 1991. 11 pp. This study examined the correlation between children's age of entry into kindergarten and their academic achievement. The Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration was administered to two sample groups of kindergartners. Findings indicated a positive correlation between entrance age and academic achievement in kindergarten. ERIC Journal Articles

EJ523372

EARLY ENTRY: A Policy in Search of Practice. Florence Rankin Wilma Vialle. Australian Journal of Early Childhood, Vol. 21, No. 1 (March 1996): 6-11. This article discusses the impact of a New South Wales (NSW) policy on early school admission for young gifted children. A survey revealed NSW principals' attitudes about the policy and impediments to its implementation, and identified social and economic factors that were of greater concern for principals than the child's academic adjustment.

EJ520504

THE INCIDENCE OF DELAYED SCHOOL ENTRY: A Twelve-Year Review. Donna Brent, Deborah C. May & Deborah K. Kundert. Early Education and Development, Vol. 7, No. 2 (April 1996): 121-135. A study examined the incidence of delayed kindergarten entry in a suburban school district over a 12-year period. Results showed a significant increase in the number of children who had delayed school entry. Significantly more males than females delayed kindergarten entry, and the majority of children delaying school entry had autumn birthdates.

EJ518569

WHEN DO PRINCIPALS AND TEACHERS THINK CHILDREN SHOULD START SCHOOL? Maggie Griffin & David Harvey. Australian Journal of Early Childhood, Vol.20, No.3 (September 1995): 27-32. A survey found that teachers and principals commonly believe children should be at least 5 years old when they begin school, and that younger children have more problems academically and socially, and tend to remain behind their older classmates.