Older entrants show higher kindergarten growth rates but lower growth rates in 1st and 2nd grades¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r? · q3
Currency · newest study 2020 · checked against its sources 2026-10-15 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? A year of additional age at entry is associated with faster kindergarten growth but slower growth during 1st and 2nd grades. → Angela Johnson 2020

q2 i? Older school entry may confer an early advantage, but that advantage fades in later grades. → Angela Johnson 2020

q2 i? The finding comes from a multi-state regression discontinuity analysis of academic growth through second grade. → Angela Johnson 2020

Evidence¶

Angela Johnson 2020¶

Angela Johnson, Megan Kuhfeld. (2020). Impacts of school entry age on academic growth through 2nd Grade: A multi-state regression discontinuity analysis. NWEA Research working paper. https://www.nwea.org/research/publication/impacts-of-school-entry-age-on-academic-growth-through-2nd-grade-a-multi-state-regression-discontinuity-analysis/ doi:10.1080/19345747.2021.1894519

q3 · i? · causal · r?

Regression discontinuity estimates from a piecewise multilevel growth model applied to three-state assessment data. The abstract reports "higher kindergarten growth rates but lower growth rates during 1st and 2nd grades"; no effect sizes are printed in the available text.

"Being a year older leads to higher initial achievement and higher kindergarten growth rates but lower growth rates during 1st and 2nd grades."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Age and Developmental Stage — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes

Related Claims¶

• Redshirted students' early-grade academic advantage over on-time peers fades as students move through school — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it
• Being a year older at kindergarten entry leads to higher initial achievement — related
• Prior evidence on school entry age lacked causal estimates of growth through early grades — related
• The school-entry-age findings were produced with a multi-state regression discontinuity analysis covering academic growth through second grade — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)
• Following the 2021-22 kindergarten cohort through third grade tested whether redshirted students showed academic advantages — related
• 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