Kindergarten cut-off dates (could be a debate, I suppose)

[BrerMom]

When is the cut-off for your state and do you think we should have a national cut-off?

Michigan's date is December 1st. That means that a kid whose birthday is at the end of November can start school at age four. Way too young for most kids considering what is expected. If you haven't been in school for a while, what used to be expected in 1st or 2nd is now expected in K. If a kid isn't reading by the end of K, they are behind and repeating K is discussed.

Algebra is currently required for all eighth graders. If the currently proposed benchmarks are approved at the state level, Algebra will be moved to 7th grade for all students. Advanced math students will be taking algebra as 6th graders!

I'd like to see a national cut-off. With as mobile as our society is, it would be nice to have a kid transfer to a different state without being by far the youngest. For example, take a kid that has a November birthday in Michigan and transfers to Indiana. When my 8th grader started school, Indiana's cut-off was June 1st. If a November birthday transferred to IN, that student would be six months younger than the youngest student in the whole grade.

edited to change the title to reflect the debate potential.

 

[zurgswife]

Our schools cut off is July 1...so my kids are older then most of there conterparts in public school....except my oldest dd as her bday is April..

 

[DisneyNutMary]

Dec 31st in New York. That way all kids born in a certain year are together.

I think that works out fine, all kids in 1993 are now entering 6th grade, it's easy to remember.

 

[Pinnie]

I am a Kindergarten teacher in MI and I TOTALLY agree that the starting age should be uniform throughout the country, but it will probably never happen in my lifetime.

Our district has implimented a program for those children with fall and late summer birthdays called "Young 5s". It is state funded and offered at no cost to the family. It meets 3 hours per day on the same calendar as the K-12 uses. The expectation of the district is that the child attends Y5s and then goes on to K the following year. If a child is not having a successful K experience, we offer the parents Y5s.

The K curriculum in MI is very fast moving. By January, the child is expected in our district to write a 10 word dictatation. The benchmarks are pretty steep. I also heard that divison and multiplication is going to be started in grade 2. If a child doesn't have a grasp of whole number concepts, it's going to be a rough ride.

pinnie

 

[jacksonsmom]

Our cut off is Sept 1st. My son was born Aug 11th, meaning he could have started school this year. I have decided NOT to send him this year not because he isn't ready now, he is, but because of the future grades. I don't want him to get to the point he is struggling in older grades because he isn't quite ready for those challenges...even talking about peer pressure here.

Yes. I think there should be a National "cut off". I know people would be upset, saying their child is ready, but school isn't like it was back when. I believe the national cut off should be June 1st. That way every child entering kindergarten would be at least 5 years old for at least a few months.

I have been asked why I am holding my DS back. I have been told he is ready & smart & he would do good in kindergarten. Of course these were from average people, not teachers, etc.
When I talked to teachers about it, I have not met one teacher who questioned why I was holding him back, as every teacher I talked said they see these kids that have birthdays close to the cut off struggle, maybe not in kindergarten, but come later in grade school or even later.

Of course I know there will be some people coming on here & saying their child started at 4 & is doing great. That is wonderful & I don't doubt you, but as a whole I feel kids benefit more with starting school when they are AT LEAST 5 years old & I feel they should be at least 5 years old for a few months before starting school.

Ok, you can tell I thought alot about this subject

 

[sue1013]

I think a national cut off would be a good idea but impossible to implement. NJ each school district has a different cut off. When I started school the district was Dec. 1 cut off. So I started at 4, we moved 2 months after school started to a district with August 31 cut off, I was always the youngest.

 

[Pembo]

Where we live now it is Aug 1. The next city over it is Sept 30. The state of Ohio is Sept 30 but schools are allowed to change it.

Yes I think we need a National date. My friend just moved to Delaware and it is state law that a child must go to kindergarten if they are 5 before Aug 31. She wasn't planning on sending her son (born Aug 17) but had to once they moved.

And don't get me started on parents who hold their kids back.

 

[palmtreegirl]

9/1 here.

 

[BrerMom]

Originally posted by Pembo


And don't get me started on parents who hold their kids back.

I'm not sending DS this year and have no guilt whatsoever. He's still testing 11 months behind acacdemically and emotionally he's still very much a three or four year old. Why would I set him up for failure when a year later he'd have a good chance for success?

 

[Beth76]

Our cut-off is Aug1 (I think) and it makes sense to have a national cut-off. I doubt it will ever happen. Besides, private schools would never have to adhere to it, so that would still be an issue. The real problem is parents who think their children are brilliant and insist on sending them as soon as possible (or even earlier if they are "especially" gifted).

My second son was born on July 3. So, as of now, he will make the cut-off. But, he will be the youngest in his class. I would like to send him when he's 5, but I won't if he's really not ready. We have 5 years to make that decision though.

 

[Beth76]

Originally posted by Pembo
And don't get me started on parents who hold their kids back.

Pembo, could you please explain this? I'm not sure I understand what you meant.

 

[SRUAlmn]

Where I grew up in Western PA it was much earlier than it was when I moved here to Maryland 3 years ago. The cutoff here was December 31 and the year I moved they implemented a system in which they move the date back by one month every year for 5 years until the cutoff will eventually be September 1. Personally, I think they should have just given a one year notice and then changed it. I don't really understand the whole progression because a lot of kids who are too young are getting lost in the shuffle. I have an October 9 birthday. I was reading at the age of 4 and very easily could have gone to Kdg when I was 1 month away from being 5, but, being a teacher, my mom knew how much of an advantage I would have being 5 almost 6 rather than 4 almost 5. I really was very successful in school and I feel that is why. My boyfriend has an October 6 birthday and he started when he was 4 almost 5 and struggled most of his life even though he is actually very smart.

 

[tonyswife]

What's the problem? If you feel like your child isn't ready for the first grade, hold them back. I really don't think the federal government should be passing arbitrary legislation. It is not their job to judge when children are ready for school, that's the parent's job. No one knows a child like he child's own parents.

 

[mommytutu]

Our cut off is September 1. Schools start in August, so I think the cut off should be changed to August 1. My ds was born Sept 9, so he is one of the oldest in his class. He is also the top reader in his class and will tested for giftedness. The kid who sits next to my son just turned 6 and my son will be seven next week. My best frined's son is three weeks older, Aug 19, and is the youngest in his class. He has had difficulties, but with special classes has made progress. My nephew is a July birthday and will be starting school next Fall. I think SIL should hold him back. His maturity level will be a BIG problem (but, that may be a whole 'nother thread). But I've seen it go both ways. DS's best friend has a November birthday and he had to repeat Kindergarten and now in first grade he still has a difficult time with reading. Dh's best friend has an Aug 30 birthday and was ALWAYS the youngest. He's one the smartest people I know and never struggled a bit in school. There was an article in the newspaper not too long ago that said kindergarten is now what first grade used to be and a lot of parents are waiting until their kids are 6 before putting them in school---especially parents in more affluent areas with better schools. Many teachers have commented on how summer birthdays are usually behind in most areas, especially maturity, and boys mature later then girls.

 

[phillybeth]

When my DH was starting K, the cutoff was January 1st. His birthday is in early December, so he started K at 4 almost 5. His K career was less than specatacular due to his young age- he had no trouble with the school work but his physical maturity was behind the other kids in terms of coordination, etc, so he went to pre-first as a 5 almost 6 YO rather than first grade. When he started first grade he was the oldest at 6 almost 7.

One of his classmates' birthday was January 2nd and the school let her start since she only missed the cutoff by a day. There was over a year age difference between the oldest and the youngest in the class!

 

[powellrj]

our school has changed our date 3 times since my kids have started school. It started out at July 1, then it went to June 1, now its September 1. My oldest made the cut off date by 4 days and we decided to hold him back until the next year because we didn't want him to be the youngest kid in his class. My youngest made it by 5 days and we sent her only because we knew the date was changing from June 1 to September 1 the next year and she was much more mature than her DB was at that age. I think a national date would be great, but I don't see it ever happening.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Our cutoff is December 1st. My one ds missed kindergarten by 3 weeks. He was soo bored when he finally went to kindergarten that the teacher had to get him first grade work etc. Little ds just made it by a month but we decided to hold him back to work on his speech and he was really immature and had a short attention span. Even now they are just about on target, littlest ds excels in math and oldest ds in hs just about keeps in the 25% upper academic area of the combined classes he takes. I am also on the review council for our kids school and even if kids test well or are borderline if they have any other areas of concern we might ask the parents how would they feel about our transitional kindergarten, its academic but really counts as preschool at our private school, its 5 days a week for an afternoon session. If they complete it and decide not to return to our school, the public school will take them into 1st grade.

 

[diznygirl]

Every child is different - there should be no cutoff date. It should be based up skills. Maybe the preschool/kindergarten/1st grade thing needs to be rethought. Maybe a goup of these kids in one class until Jan and then split them up by ability.

My son turns 5 in December missing the Sept cut off date and can read and write - his friend who is 5 and in Kindergarten cannot read or write. My ds will have to wait a whole year until kindergarten - and who knows what he will be doing then!

Please know that I am not bragging - I just have seen too many kids labeled problems because they are bored by the work in school and make their own "fun" by acting out. I don't want my ds to become one of them. I'd rather he be in kindergarten right now being challenged by the work rather than in preschool learning his colors!!

 

[OceanAnnie]

Well, I find myself having a differing opinion on this topic. I don't want to change anyone's mind or have a debate/argument. Just express my vicarious experience & subsequent POV.

Children develop at different rates. As *I* see it it isn't an across the board thing. (I'm not putting down people that see it as an across the board thing...) To me, it's very plausible that a child can be ready for a grade level and not *fit* the age restriction. Yes, socially and academically.

I had a neice that tested for first grade. She passed a church sponsored accredited kindergarten program. She was denied entry into the public school's first grade because she didn't meet the age restriction by less than 2 weeks. All of the other kids from the church program that did meet the age restriction went on to first grade.

She reads at the 2.9 class level, excels in math. Just an all around gifted child. The school system has her in kindergarten with *supplemental activities*. I think it's a shame. Less than 2 weeks from the age cut off does not a years difference make.

The school psychologist said she was distracted during the testing and knew she could do better. (!?) By the way, a child would have to be in the top 3% to be considered for moving up. How many children are in the top 3% in any class?? It was nuts IMO. The first grade teacher told the principal and my sister that *Lauren* would do well in first grade. Then the principal asked how would she do in kindergarten? What?? That statement revealed a lot to me.

The administrators told my sister that in the school system's history, only 3 children had been moved up a grade. I think the administrators don't *allow* leeway for individuals because if they do it for one, they will be held to a standard to do it for all that apply. (IMO it should be that way for those that are truly ready.) And that's one gate they don't want to open. To me it's ageism. Readiness is an individual thing.

Getting off of my soap box and donning my flame retardant suit.

 

[Pinnie]

I can speak from experience both as a K teacher and a mother of a late fall child that went on to K at the age of 4 (I didn't know better back then ..he is 25 yrs old now) While DS could do the work academically, he struggled socially because he was always the youngest, smallest and last to do anything. While his "age peers" in 10th grade were getting their driver's licenses, DS still had to have mom and dad take him to his activities. He wasn't interested in dating when his "grade mates" were, so that left him in the dust. What he ended up doing was making friends with the students in the grade behind him.

He graduated from HS at the age of 17 and was not ready socially to go away to college, instead going to a local CC. He still talks about having "missed out" on the whole university dorm experice that his younger brother (June 1) experienced.

I encourage parents to not only think in the "here and now" about the K placement, and whether the child is academically ready for the K curriculum, but down the road to middle school when age peers will be "developing" physically and your child may be a year behind. It IS an issue that needs to be thought about.

My favorite quote is:
"Childhood should be a journey, not a race."

pinnie