Age in grade one and academic success
Date
2004
Authors
Wheeler, Grieg
University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Education
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Education, 2004
Abstract
Alberta provincial legislation allows each School District to establish a specific cut-off
date, within a given range, that regulates when a student may start Grade one. A child
must turn six years of age between September 15t and February 28th of the school year.
The range of start dates granted by the Provincial Government spans 180 days. It would
be reasonable to anticipate that this range could have a direct impact on almost fifty
percent of the student population. Given family mobility, children are able to start school
in one jurisdiction and move to another jurisdiction often with no regard for the age of
entry. If a child moved from a district with a February 28 cut-off date, to a district with a
September 1 cut-off date, the age difference between two students in the same class could
be as extreme as one day short of 18 months! This study presents quantitative research
that examines the question, "Does the age of entry into grade 1 have an influence on the
academic success of students at the conclusion of their first year in grade 3." Provincial
Achievement Test results in Language Arts and Math of 40 grade 3 students have been
examined to determine relationships between age of school entry into grade 1 as well as
achievement between genders. Contrary to previous studies, age has little effect on
achievement. Among the 21 girls in the group, younger students outperformed their
older classmates, yet not at a statistically significant level. Among the 19 boys in the
group, older students outperformed their old younger classmates, yet not at a statistically
significant level. Gender achievement appears to be a greater issue than does the
difference in age.
Description
viii, 67 leaves ; 29 cm. --
Keywords
School age (Entrance age) -- Alberta -- Case studies , Readiness for school -- Alberta -- Case studies , Academic achievement -- Alberta -- Evaluation