In the present study, we investigated the relative impact of age- versus schooling-related growth in school readiness skills using four modeling approaches that leverage natural variation in longitudinal data collected within the preschool year. Our goal was to demonstrate the applicability of different analytic techniques that do not rely on…

In the present study, we investigated the relative impact of age- versus schooling-related growth in school readiness skills using four modeling approaches that leverage natural variation in longitudinal data collected within the preschool year. Our goal was to demonstrate the applicability of different analytic techniques that do not rely on…

This publication focuses on the duration of compulsory education/training in Europe. It highlights the starting and leaving ages and distinguishes the notions of full-time and part-time compulsory education/training. The information is available for 43 European education systems covering 38 countries participating in the EU's Erasmus+ programme.…

This paper estimates peer effects on children's school entry age, using a dataset on 4,165 children from rural northwestern China (Gansu province). Instrumental-variable estimation, exploiting variations in (older) peers' home-to-school distance to identify the effect of their school entry age, reveals that a one-year increase in (older) peers'…

There is growing evidence that school starting age impacts children's likelihood of receiving special education services, but less is known about variations in this effect. Using a regression discontinuity design, I found that the youngest students in a kindergarten cohort are 40% more likely (p < 0.001) to be placed in special education than…

While states have developed policies around a cut-off date for kindergarten entrance, some parents chose to have their child enter kindergarten before this date (Early Entrance) as an acceleration technique, or hold the child back from entering, a practice termed Redshirting, to allow for greater maturity and increased achievement in relation to…

Background/Context: The age at which children can enter kindergarten continues to be discussed in both educational research and practice, and the debate for whether to increase kindergarten entry age remains active on both sides. A critical oversight has been the lack of attention paid towards entry age for those students who begin school with a…

The School Admissions Code ('the Code') requires school admission authorities to provide for the admission of all children in the September following their fourth birthday. This is when children usually start school, but a child does not reach compulsory school age until the "prescribed day" following their fifth birthday (or on their…

Understanding the factors that influence student outcomes is crucial for both parents and schools when designing effective educational strategies. This paper explores the impact of peer age on both cognitive and non-cognitive outcomes using a randomized sample of middle school students. By analyzing how exogenous variations in peer age affect…

In this paper, we estimate the causal effect of an extra year of schooling on mathematics performance for seven Latin American countries based on PISA 2012. To that end we exploit exogenous variation in students' birthdates around the school entry cut-off date using both sharp and fuzzy Regression Discontinuity designs. We find strong effects of…

There are contrasting results of the association between center-based care attendance and child development, mainly related to how the time of entry and permanence in the program relates to developmental outcomes. Using latent class analysis in a nationally representative sample of Chilean children between 6 and 35 months old (n = 3,992), and…

Across cultures, young children learn primarily within their family, with the family's culture positioning the values, language and purpose of children's learning toward the family's goals. Quality education begins within families, and at school entry age, children's learning within their families is critical to their educational success. However,…

Few elementary students on the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) are scoring at grade level or higher on the ACT Aspire reading assessment. To better understand factors associated with the reading proficiency of CNMI grade 3 students, stakeholders there asked the Regional Educational Laboratory Pacific to examine the demographic…

Few elementary students in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) are scoring at grade level or higher on the ACT Aspire reading assessment. To better understand factors associated with the reading proficiency of CNMI grade 3 students, stakeholders there asked the Regional Educational Laboratory Pacific to examine the demographic…

Few elementary students in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) are scoring at grade level or higher on the ACT Aspire reading assessment. This study examined data on students who enrolled in grade 3 in a CNMI public school from 2014/15 to 2018/19 to understand their grade 3 reading performance. The study used administrative…