Age of Admission and Trends in Achievement: A Comparison of Blacks and Caucasians

Abstract

This study investigated the changing achievement relationships among students based on ages at entry into first grade and ages relative to their classmates. Data from students in grades 4, 8, and 11 were selected from National Assessment of Educational Progress achievement data in mathematics, science, and reading collected from national samples of year-old students. Relative age, class age, sex, parental education, home environment, and type of community were entered in stepwise multiple regression analyses. The achievement data for Caucasians indicated that the significantly higher achievement of the oldest as compared to the youngest students at age 9 remained significant, but decreased at age 13, and disappeared by age 17. For blacks, while the trend did not decrease at age 13, it also disappeared at age 17. A second analysis of the proportion of students retained one grade revealed significantly increasing proportions of retained students as relative age became younger for Caucasians and blacks. Clinical screening based on sex and school district entrance age requirements was suggested for several groups. Signs of inadequate readiness in some of these groups pose potentially serious threats to academic careers and suggest delaying entrance for a year. Is there a best age for all children to enter the first grade? This difficult question has long concerned parents, educators, administrators, and legis-This article is based on a paper given at Downloaded from LANGER, KALK, AND SEARLS lators (Hedges, 1977). The common criterion used by school districts for entrance into the first grade has been chronological age, with admission usually allowed only at the beginning of the school year (Jones, 1968). Such a simple criterion has obvious administrative advantages but also encourages pressure for change from parents and teachers. The result is frequent legislative reexamination of the laws governing entrance age (Carline, 1964; Educational Research Service [ERS], 1975). The confusion and ambiguity about these policies can be seen in the range of 5 calendar months among the entrance age requirements for the nation's school districts (ERS, 1975; National Institute of Education, 1978). But school budget constraints and inadequate research have left the simple age requirement as the normal admission policy to first grade. Comparisons of the academic achievement of children entering school at the opposite ends of the normal 12-month entrance age period have demonstrated that the younger students receive lower school grades and score lower on achievement tests. These findings have been consistent, starting with Bigelow (1934), through King (1955), Green and Simmons (1962), Carrol (1963), and Hall (1963).Most of the research has dealt with both restricted populations and grade ranges. However, in a study covering a more extended grade range, Miller and Norris (1967) found the initial academic differences attenuating between normally entering older and younger children as they progressed through elementary school.The Colema...

Relationship of School Entrance Age to Academic and Social Performance

“…When the results of the studies are tallied, younger boys appear to account for the majority of the variance in lower achievement scores (Davis et al 1980;Dickinson & Larson, 1983;Kinard & Reinhertz, 1986;Langer et al, 1984). Other research September/October 1992 [Vol.…”

Decision-Making Perspectives for Kindergarten Entry

“…The results are similar when older nine-year-old African-American students significantly score higher in achievement tests compared to younger nine-year-old African-American students; however, the differences in scores continued through age thirteen with the African-American students. Again, by age seventeen, the differences in test scores between younger and older African-American students are not evident (Langer, Kalk, & Searls, 1984).…”

L’influence des amis sur l’engagement scolaire au secondaire: La popularité des élèves comme variable modératrice?

“…Dans cette perspective, un jeune moins populaire serait davantage susceptible d'adopter les comportements de ses amis plus populaires. Une étude récente (Laursen, Hafen, Kerr, & Stattin, 2012) démontre que dans les dyades d'amis, l'influence d'un jeune sur l'autre varie effectivement en fonction de la différence de statut social entre chacun des membres de la dyade. Sur une période d'un an, les auteurs constatent une augmentation plus importante des problèmes de comportement et de l'usage de stupéfiants chez les élèves moins populaires qui entretiennent une relation d'amitié avec un ami plus populaire manifestant initialement un haut niveau de problèmes de comportement.…”

“…Dans le cadre de la présente étude, la popularité perçue sera privilégiée afin de rendre compte du statut social des élèves. Bien que la théorie sur la socialisation des jeunes populaires et la théorie de la divergence sociale n'abordent pas spécifiquement les distinctions qui existent entre les deux différentes formes de popularité (popularité perçue et acceptation sociale), les travaux empiriques ayant examiné la question jusqu'à ce jour ont tous privilégié le niveau d'acceptation sociale des élèves afin d'évaluer leur niveau de popularité (Allen et al, 2005;Fallu et al, 2011;Laursen et al, 2012). Dans la mesure où les élèves perçus comme étant populaires valorisent beaucoup moins l'engagement scolaire et sont reconnus pour être davantage enclins à manifester des comportements perturbateurs en classe (Cillessen, 2011;Rodkin et al, 2000;Schwartz et al, 2006), ces derniers pourraient alors être tout particulièrement sensibles à l'influence négative de leurs amis sur le plan de l'ajustement scolaire.…”