The entrance-age achievement association is especially pronounced among children from upper-income families¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r? · q3
Currency · newest study 2009 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? The association between achievement test scores and entrance age is especially pronounced among children from upper-income families, a group the authors describe as likely to have accumulated the most skills prior to school entry. → Todd E. Elder and Darren H. Lubotsky 2009

Evidence¶

Todd E. Elder and Darren H. Lubotsky 2009¶

Todd E. Elder and Darren H. Lubotsky. (2009). Kindergarten Entrance Age and Children’s Achievement: Impacts of State Policies, Family Background, and Peers. Journal of Human Resources. https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.44.3.641

q3 · i? · causal · r?

The article reports a family-background moderator: the entrance-age association is “especially pronounced among children from upper-income families.” The authors link this to greater pre-kindergarten skill accumulation in those families, consistent with their prior-skills interpretation. No effect size is printed in the available text.

"The association between achievement test scores and entrance age appears during the first months of kindergarten, declines sharply in subsequent years, and is especially pronounced among children from upper-income families, a group likely to have accumulated the most skills prior to school entry."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Socioeconomic Status — moderator: an instructional effect differs by group

Related Claims¶

• The positive relationship between kindergarten entrance age and achievement primarily reflects skill accumulation prior to kindergarten rather than heightened in-school learning ability — related
• The entrance-age achievement association appears in the first months of kindergarten and declines sharply in subsequent years — related
• Test scores measure accumulated knowledge at a moment in time, not innate student ability — related
• Being a year older at kindergarten entry leads to higher initial achievement — related