RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Kindergarten Entrance Age and Children’s Achievement
JF Journal of Human Resources
JO J Hum Resour
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 641
OP 683
DO 10.3368/jhr.44.3.641
VO 44
IS 3
A1 Todd E. Elder
A1 Darren H. Lubotsky
YR 2009
UL http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/44/3/641.abstract
AB We present evidence that the positive relationship between kindergarten entrance age and school achievement primarily reflects skill accumulation prior to kindergarten, rather than a heightened ability to learn in school among older children. The association between achievement test scores and entrance age appears during the first months of kindergarten, declines sharply in subsequent years, and is especially pronounced among children from upper-income families, a group likely to have accumulated the most skills prior to school entry. Finally, having older classmates boosts a child’s test scores but increases the probability of grade repetition and diagnoses of learning disabilities such as ADHD.