ED414076 PS026085
Title: The Elementary School Performance and Adjustment of Children Who
Enter Kindergarten Late or Repeat Kindergarten: Findings from National Surveys.
National Household Education Survey. Statistical Analysis Report.
Author(s):
Zill, Nicholas; Loomis, Laura Spencer; West, Jerry
Author Affiliation:
Westat, Inc., Rockville, MD.(BBB22888)
Pages: 78
Publication
Date: November 1997
Sponsoring Agency: National Center for Education
Statistics (ED), Washington, DC. (EDD00004)
Report No: NCES-98-097
Available from: EDRS Price MF01/PC04 Plus Postage.
Availability:
National Library of Education; phone: 800-424-1616; fax: 202-219-1696 (single
copy, free).
Language: English
Document Type: Reports--Research
(143)
Geographic Source: U.S.; District of Columbia
Journal
Announcement: RIEAPR1998
Government Level: Federal
Some parents have chosen to delay their children's enrollment in kindergarten
by a year because of individual differences in the pace and pattern of children's
development. In other situations, some schools recommend delaying a child's school
entry based on "readiness" testing or require that some kindergartners
attend kindergarten for a second year. Data from the 1993 and 1995 National Household
Education Surveys show that about one child in seven either entered kindergarten
late or was required to repeat kindergarten. The surveys found similarities between
these two categories of children, but also some notable differences pertaining
to gender, race, and developmental delays. The surveys found striking differences
in later school performance (in grades one and two) between children who were
held out of kindergarten and children who repeated kindergarten. The performance
of those who had been held out of kindergarten was found to be better in first
and second grade than that of children who entered kindergarten at the prescribed
age. In contrast, those who were required to repeat kindergarten were doing worse
than their first- and second-grade peers. First- and second-graders in 1993 who
had repeated kindergarten were more likely than children who had not repeated
kindergarten to receive negative feedback from their teachers. When demographic,
socioeconomic, and developmental factors were taken into account, the differences
in school performance were reduced, but remained significant in the 1993 survey.
In the 1995 survey, however, controlling for these background factors essentially
eliminated the differences between student who were held out and other first-
and second-graders. The same was true of performance differences between the students
who had been retained and other students. The surveys did not find evidence that
children who may have been at increased risk of experiencing difficulties in school
benefited from (or were harmed by) delayed kindergarten entry. The same was true
of kindergarten retention. (Interview items from both years, analyses, and logistic
regression model coefficients are appended. Contains 44 references.) (HTH)
Descriptors: Academic Achievement; Developmental Delays; *Grade Repetition;
Grade 1; Grade 2; Individual Development; *Kindergarten; Kindergarten Children;
*Performance Factors; Primary Education; Racial Differences; School Entrance Age;
*School Readiness; Sex Differences
Identifiers: *Delayed School Entry
