This rapid review of research evidence was commissioned by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) to investigate the issue of relative age in the international context. The review findings are drawn from 18 research studies published from 2000 to 2008 and carried out in Australia, Chile, the United Kingdom and the USA together with…

G. Gredler defends his use of the cumulative retention rate to address the question of school readiness. (CL)

First grade entry ages were determined for all learning disabled (LD) children in grades 1 through 12 in a large special education cooperative. The results suggested the possibility that children who enter first grade early may be more likely to be labeled LD than children who enter when they are older. (Author)

The effects of school entrance age on school performance and adjustment were examined by comparing six groups, each representing two months of the year. While there were age group differences in the entry year, there were none in subsequent years. (Author/MT)

This study examines the degree of correlation between the age of a child on entering kindergarten and the child's academic achievement. A review of literature provides evidence that premature learning may actually create a block to later learning. One study reported that many chronologically young children who had a higher than average I.Q. failed…

The authors, while supporting the view expressed in EC 124 402 that decisions on school readiness should not be determined by birthdate, express concern over statistics used in the study. (CL)

A study determined if either school entry age or gender had any effect on the reading achievement of 121 second-grade students from the Metuchen, New Jersey, public school district. The subjects were administered the California Achievement Test in the Spring of 1994. Results indicated that late starters scored significantly better than early…

Findings supported the theory that children born late in the year are significantly more likely to be referred for academic problems in the primary grades than are children born early in the year. (CL)

Research on the relation of age of admission to kindergarten and later school achievement has yielded inconsistent findings. This study examined the school district records of two cohorts of kindergartners who had been enrolled in the same school district during Fall 1989 and Fall 1990. Records for both cohorts were examined at the completion of…

Investigated attitudes of 194 teachers toward a policy which allowed children to enter school at the age of 4 years, 6 months in a single intake at the beginning of the school year. Although teachers were generally in favor of the single intake, many were concerned about the entry age. (RJC)

This study examined the relationship between age at school entry and reading readiness in kindergarten. Subjects included 30 kindergarten students selected randomly from a population of 56 students at a parochial school in a predominantly low socioeconomic status neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois. All students were African American and ranged in…

This study investigated the relationship of kindergarten entrance age to academic achievement at the end of grades one through five, and the influence of gender, race, and family income on student achievement. A total of 185 students who attended a Cooperative Demonstrative Kindergarten during 1979-82 and remained in the Starkville (Mississippi)…

Comparison of Great Britain's and other countries' school admission policies suggested that, while Great Britain already has one of the lowest statutory admission ages in Europe and the United States, there is a trend in England and Wales to admit children to school at an even younger age. (Author/CB)

This paper (1) reviews the literature on the relationship between entrance age into kindergarten and academic achievement and (2) reports a study of the effect of entrance age on school success. Some experts say that age alone is the best indicator of success. Others say that chronological age, mental age, intelligence quotient, readiness,…

A 1983 survey reveals that in recent years there has been an increasing trend in England toward admitting more children under statutory age to infant school. The implications for nursery and infant education and for the children are outlined. Statistical tables are included. (CT)