Psychologv in ihe Schools Voiume 22, Junuurv. 1985

BEGINNING SCHOOL AGE AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT CAROL DIETZ AND BARRY J . WILSON

University of Northern Iowa

One hundred and seventeen students who began kindergarten in 1978-79 were studied to determine effects of beginning school age and gender on later school achievement and retention in grade. No significant differences among the three age groups were found at kindergarten, 2nd, or 4th grade. Differences in achievement between boys and girls were noted. Results are similar to those of other recent studies and suggest that parents and teachers may be unduly cautious when delaying the entry of children to school on the basis of chronological age considerations. Local district studies are recommended.

Many parents and educators today are sympathetic to arguments presented by authorities such as Ilg and Ames (1965), who argue that many children would be more likely to experience success in school if they were older when they entered school. There has always been debate with respect to an appropriate age for the beginning of formal in- struction, and, while parents typically find a number of obstacles to early entry to school, little thought is given by them to delay of entry; and, in fact, delay may be actively promoted by some teachers and principals. The minimum age at which a child may enter school is fixed by each state, and in the state of Iowa a student must be 5 years of age on or before September 15th in order to be admitted to kindergarten. The “magic” date varies from state to state, but this requirement, together with the fact that students are admitted only in the fall of the year, assures that students in a typical grade will vary in age as much as a year or more. The fact that a child is born in August or early September and also happens to be a boy is interpreted by some to be a cruel fate indeed (Donofrio, 1977). The present study was conducted to determine if there were differences among students in later school performance that could be attributed to chronological age and gender.

METHOD School records for 167 students enrolled in the West Delaware School District dur-

ing the 1978-79 school year were examined. Of these, 50 were excluded from the analysis because they had moved from the district (40) or were retained in grade after entry (10). The remaining 117 students were divided into three age groups with a mean age of 62 months, 66 months, and 71 months at the time of school entry. Kindergarten readiness test scores, standardized achievement test scores, and group ability test scores which were collected as part of the school testing program were examined to determine any differences among the three age groups, as well as differences between boys and girls. Records also were examined to determine if age was related to retention in grade.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION There were no significant differences on readiness scores among the age groups,

F(2,107)= 1.25,~>.05, nor between boys and girls, F(1,107)=2.12,p>.05. There were no significant differences noted among age groups for 2nd grade ITBS reading, math, or composite scores, but boys scored six months lower than girls in reading, F( 1,106)= 5.19,

Reprint requests should be sent to Barry J. Wilson, Dept. of Educational Psychology, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, 1A 50614.

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p<.05, and four months lower on the composite score, F(1,106)=5.58,p<.05. In the 4th grade, significant differences were noted only in the composite score, where boys scored six months lower than did girls, F(1,112)=4.42,~<.05. There were no significant interac- tions between age and gender. Of the 10 students who were retained at a later date, three were in the youngest group, six in the middle group, and one in the oldest group.

Results are consistent with those obtained by other recent investigations (Gredler, 1980; Langer, Kalk, & Sears, 1984) and suggest that there is little or no effect on academic achievement that can be attributed to the birthday of a student. Students who were retained in grade did not tend to be among the youngest students, which conflicts with the findings of Langer, Kalk, and Sears (1984).

Educators who routinely recommend delay of schooling only on the basis of birth- day and gender consideration may need to reevaluate their pessimistic predictions. It should be noted, however, that the minimum age for entry in other states is up to 5 months earlier than the age used in Iowa. These and other differences among school dis- tricts suggest the need for local district studies regarding the long-term effects of school age entry.

REFERENCES DONOFRIO, A. F. (1977). Grade and repetition: Therapy of choice. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 10, 348-

GREDLER, G. R. (1980). The birthday effect: Fact or artifact. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 13, 239-242. ILG, F. L., & AMES, L. G. (1965). School readiness: Behavior tests used at the Gesell Institute. New York:

Harper & Row. LANGER, P., KALK, J . M., & SEARS, D. T. (1984). Age of admission and trends in achievement: A com-

parison of blacks and Caucasians. American Educational Research Journal, 21. 61-78.

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