As more attention and funding is focused on expanding early childhood education, a new study shows that the youngest children enrolled in kindergarten are five times more likely to be held back than the older students in their class.
University of Missouri professor Francis Huang analyzed data from a national longitudinal study of kindergarten class of 1998-99 and found that the youngest students were far more likely to be retained, or held back, than other students.
The cost of retention is extensive, Huang reports. Requiring these youngest students to repeat kindergarten is expensive for parents and schools, and it is harmful to the children’s self-esteem, Huang found.
In a study published in the Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, Huang found that a child’s self control and interpersonal skills were directly related to their ability to complete the grade. Huang’s research also shows children with higher attentiveness, task persistence and eagerness to learn were less likely to be retained.
Huang also found that a child’s size is related to retention, and that a smaller kindergarten student is more likely to repeat the grade than a larger student. This relationship existed even after accounting for age, socioeconomic status and academic abilities.
In general, children must be five years old to enroll in kindergarten, and there are major developmental differences between a child who has just turned five and one almost a year older.
“The youngest students in a classroom can be nine to 12 months less mature than their older peers,” Huang said. “Since older kindergarteners can have as much as 20 percent more life experience than their youngest peers, teachers need to meet students where they are developmentally and adjust instruction based on a student’s ability.”