Academic Achievement and Social Behaviors Associated with Age of Entry into Kindergarten

A longitudinal design (kindergarten through third grade) was used to assess the effects of the age at which children entered kindergarten on children's academicachievement, social skills, academic engagement, relationship with teachers, and self ratings of academic skills. The sample was ethnically diverse; all of the over 200 children in the study came from low-income families. Results indicated a modest advantage in academicachievement for children who entered kindergarten at a relatively older age during the first year of school, but this advantage disappeared by third grade. The only advantage found in kindergarten and third grade for children who were relatively old when they entered school was in more positive feelings about their teacher. “Holding out” was rare (less than 1%) in this low-income sample.