Almost 7 year old in kindergarten!!

[Anonymous]

I am all for a set day of required age (say Sept 1st) and a 1 month leeway of parent decision whether to advance (birthdays Sept 2-Oct 1st) or hold back (Aug 1st-31st). Beyond that 30 days, your child needs to be tested and met with the school/staff development to agree whether your child needs to be held back or advanced.

If a parent has no right to advance a child on their own, they should have no right to decide not to start school at the required age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am all for a set day of required age (say Sept 1st) and a 1 month leeway of parent decision whether to advance (birthdays Sept 2-Oct 1st) or hold back (Aug 1st-31st). Beyond that 30 days, your child needs to be tested and met with the school/staff development to agree whether your child needs to be held back or advanced.

If a parent has no right to advance a child on their own, they should have no right to decide not to start school at the required age.

Something like this could also work well to give the children who need additional supports, the additional supports they need. So instead of a kid having to be unsupported for the first several months of school while everyone gets their hands around what's going on, a child could start school with effective supports in place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Shit. My son is taller than most of the kids in his current class and has a September birthday, so he misses the cutoff for Kindergarten where we live. Should I anticipate that people will talk about him like this when he starts school?

Yup. It is like people don't understand the school cutoff calendar. DS is very tall and has a late October bday. When I say he is 7 people always ask if he is in 2nd grade.
You know when the cut off is people so there are obviously a significant number of 7 year olds in 1st grade. I am not sure why people care if a 7 year old is in K, 1st or 2nd.

DS had a classmate last year who had to repeat kindergarten, which meant he was 7 in K. Big deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I meant a wide achievement gap between poorer families and wealthier families. Overall wealthier families will do even better if many kids are held back. Poorer families have to send their children at an earlier age regardless of whether they meet benchmarks or not. This creates a greater achievement gap than if almost everyone just sent their children on-time.

I suspect not. I teach 1st grade and my class is mixed socioeconomically. The children who are having difficulties in my class have problems with attendance, parental involvement, and home life, not being younger.

I agree there would still be an achievement gap. I just mean that I think the achievement gap would be smaller without the amount of redshirting at the wealthier schools.

You're assuming that redshirting is academically beneficial as a general proposition. It's not. Though obviously it may be beneficial in specific circumstances.

What I mean is that in early grades especially these children will test higher creating a larger achievement gap on paper in K, 1st, 2nd, etc. Whether it's academically advantageous throughout life is another question.

[Anonymous]

K teacher here. i had two or three 7 year olds in my K class last year

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:K teacher here. i had two or three 7 year olds in my K class last year

Did their age benefit them academically or behaviorally? Or was it a detriment?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:K teacher here. i had two or three 7 year olds in my K class last year

You don't know?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:K teacher here. i had two or three 7 year olds in my K class last year

You don't know?

Maybe K teachers don't keep track the same way crazy parents do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Shit. My son is taller than most of the kids in his current class and has a September birthday, so he misses the cutoff for Kindergarten where we live. Should I anticipate that people will talk about him like this when he starts school?

Yup. It is like people don't understand the school cutoff calendar. DS is very tall and has a late October bday. When I say he is 7 people always ask if he is in 2nd grade.
You know when the cut off is people so there are obviously a significant number of 7 year olds in 1st grade. I am not sure why people care if a 7 year old is in K, 1st or 2nd.

DS had a classmate last year who had to repeat kindergarten, which meant he was 7 in K. Big deal.

Seven is for first and second grade, not kindergarten.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:K teacher here. i had two or three 7 year olds in my K class last year

Did their age benefit them academically or behaviorally? Or was it a detriment?

I am more curious about how having kids who should be second grade in kindergarten impacted the five year olds who were correctly placed according to their ages.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:K teacher here. i had two or three 7 year olds in my K class last year

Did their age benefit them academically or behaviorally? Or was it a detriment?

I am more curious about how having kids who should be second grade in kindergarten impacted the five year olds who were correctly placed according to their ages.

?

Nobody is holding kids back two years. Instead of starting kindergarten at age 5 and turning 6 while in kindergarten, the kid started kindergarten one year later, at age 6, and turned 7 while in kindergarten. Why are people's counting skills always so suspect in redshirting threads on DCUM?

[Anonymous]

5 to 7 is a big age range - a young 5 vs an older 7.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:5 to 7 is a big age range - a young 5 vs an older 7.

Please explain how it's possible to have "a young 5" and "an older 7" in the same kindergarten class at the same time. If a kid went on time is "a young 5", it will be at the beginning of the school year. But no kid who went one year late will be "an older 7" until the end of the school year. At most they might be "a young 7" at the beginning of the school year, if the kid's birthday were right after the cut-off AND the kid went one year late -- which would be very unusual.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:5 to 7 is a big age range - a young 5 vs an older 7.

Please explain how it's possible to have "a young 5" and "an older 7" in the same kindergarten class at the same time. If a kid went on time is "a young 5", it will be at the beginning of the school year. But no kid who went one year late will be "an older 7" until the end of the school year. At most they might be "a young 7" at the beginning of the school year, if the kid's birthday were right after the cut-off AND the kid went one year late -- which would be very unusual.

Not that PP. My young 5 at the beginning of the school year is now 5.5, which is still a young 5 nowadays. The 7 year old, with a February, March, or April birthday would still be a young 7, you are right about that. It is actually a young 5 vs a young 7. Do you consider that a big age range? I do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:5 to 7 is a big age range - a young 5 vs an older 7.

Please explain how it's possible to have "a young 5" and "an older 7" in the same kindergarten class at the same time. If a kid went on time is "a young 5", it will be at the beginning of the school year. But no kid who went one year late will be "an older 7" until the end of the school year. At most they might be "a young 7" at the beginning of the school year, if the kid's birthday were right after the cut-off AND the kid went one year late -- which would be very unusual.

Not that PP. My young 5 at the beginning of the school year is now 5.5, which is still a young 5 nowadays. The 7 year old, with a February, March, or April birthday would still be a young 7, you are right about that. It is actually a young 5 vs a young 7. Do you consider that a big age range? I do.

Why is five and a half a young 5 "nowadays"? A child who is five and a half turned five half a year ago. Is a child who is five and three-quarters also a young 5 nowadays? Is a child who is seven and a half a young 7?

Basically we are looking at an age range of 18 months (with holding kids back) vs. 12 months. Do I consider that a meaningful difference? No, I don't.