Some of you have likely seen this article at NYTimes, by Elizabeth Weil. I am writing this diary because the author seems to not have discussed a possible remedy to the problem. Red shirting is becoming a bigger issue as a result of the No Child Left Behind Law; older third graders test better than younger third graders under the law. What do you think the school prefers, older or younger? If you don’t have kids, you’re probably thinking, what‘s the big deal, what’s the fuss? But I’ll tell you as a parent, this can be a very big deal. The article does a good job explaining the dilemma: no one wants their child to be the youngest in the kindergarten class. If you have a child in the last few months before the birthday cut-off it can be a wrenching decision whether to send them or not. My spouse and I decided to send our child with the birthday near the cut-off. It’s a personal decision that I typically keep the reasons for, to myself. Doesn’t that say something? But I’ve listened to countless parents explain in detail their reasons for holding back their own child.
The author of this article discusses a newer study by European authors on the birthdays of World Cup Soccer Players. This article was also discussed by the authors of Freakonomics in this Boston Globe Article last year. Basically, 50% of Elite English players have Jan., Feb., and March birthdays. Why? In Europe the birthday cutoff for youth groups is December 31st. So these early birthdays have the advantage of size in youth age group soccer. Any one familiar with age group sports can easily see the advantage of this. Actually the advantages I’ve personally witness are quite shocking, I have no doubt it’s true. A lot of the recent editorials on this subject quote the soccer research, and are the launching point for other commentary.
What can be done about this? One clue in the article is that the "relative" difference is key, or keeping the differences between kids to a minimum is helpful. I have no background in education, so I’m just going with what I’ve read and witnessed anecdotally. I think that the schools should consider age grouping kindergartners and first graders. Most schools are larger with multiple sections and this would be a doable arrangement. This way kids would be with a group of kids similar in age, within a few months. Maybe some educators out there could comment on this.