The Impact of Age, Sex, and Ethnicity on Kindergarten Entry and Retention Decisions

At What Age Should Children Enter Kindergarten? A Question for Policy Makers and Parents

“…Brent, May, and Kundert's (1996) analysis of data for one school district over a 12-year period found steady increases in the use of delayed school entry from about 6% in the first block of three years to about 12% in the most recent block of three years. Recent surveys suggest that about 9 or 10 percent of parents nationally delay their children's entry into kindergarten (Brent et al, 1996;Cosden, Zimmer & Tuss, 1993;National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 1997;Byrd, Weitzman & Auinger, 1997). Boys are more likely than girls to be held out, by a factor of nearly 2 to 1 (Brent et al, 1996;Cosden et al, 1993;May et al, 1995).…”

“…Recent surveys suggest that about 9 or 10 percent of parents nationally delay their children's entry into kindergarten (Brent et al, 1996;Cosden, Zimmer & Tuss, 1993;National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 1997;Byrd, Weitzman & Auinger, 1997). Boys are more likely than girls to be held out, by a factor of nearly 2 to 1 (Brent et al, 1996;Cosden et al, 1993;May et al, 1995). And the closer children's birthdays are to the cutoff date (and thus the younger they would have been if they had entered when the law allowed), the more likely they are to be held out (Cosden et al, 1993;Graue & DiPerna, 2000;May et al, 1995;Mayer & Knutson, 1999;NCES, 1997).…”

Does Preschool Enrichment of Precursors to Arithmetic Influence Intuitive Knowledge of Number in Low Income Children?

“…Unlike years ago, when kindergarten was a place to learn to discover, socialize, and play within a festive like atmosphere, today's kindergarten provides children with preacademic skills necessary for the formal academic work of first grade (Cosden, Zimmer, & Tuss, 1993;Fast Response Survey System, 1993;Hains, Fowler, Kottwitz, Schwartz, & Rosenkoetter, 1989). Due to accountability pressures experienced by both primary and secondary schools, expectations for kindergarten students have become so high that an increasing number are experiencing kindergarten failure, with disadvantaged children being most at risk (Cosden et al, 1993;Rosenkoetter, 2001).…”

“…Due to accountability pressures experienced by both primary and secondary schools, expectations for kindergarten students have become so high that an increasing number are experiencing kindergarten failure, with disadvantaged children being most at risk (Cosden et al, 1993;Rosenkoetter, 2001). From a life-course perspective, this has great long-term implications for social integration and economic self-reliance.…”

Effects of Junior Kindergarten on Emerging Literacy in Children from Low-Income and Linguistic-Minority Families

“…Due to accountability pressures experienced by both primary and secondary schools, expectations for kindergarten have become so high that increasing numbers of children are experiencing kindergarten failure, with ethnic minorities being most at risk of retention (Cosden, Zimmer, & Tuss, 1993). From a life-course perspective, this has important implications for social integration, educational attainment, and economic self-reliance (Entwisle, Alexander, & Steffel Olson, 2005;Pagani, Tremblay, Vitaro, Boulerice, & McDuff, 2001).…”