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It's been known for years that the oldest children in class perform better in school than their youngest classmates. But according to a new study co-authored by University of Toronto Scarborough economist Elizabeth Dhuey, that gap can persist, with older children more likely to attend post-secondary school and graduate from an elite university.
"Older children, in this case those born in early September, do better in elementary school than their younger peers," says Dhuey, whose past research has explored this phenomenon.
"What we found in this study is that gap persists throughout their school careers, so they end up being more likely to attend a post-secondary school and graduate from an elite university."
The study, by Dhuey, an associate professor of economics, and a team of three economists from U.S.-based universities, was published by the National Bureau of Economic Research. It followed differences between Florida children born just before and after the Sept. 1 cut-off date to start kindergarten. (In Ontario, the cut-off date to start kindergarten is Jan. 1.)
precocious kids need not apply
Source: https://phys.org/news/2017-09-oldest-kids-class-university.html
Reference: Elizabeth Dhuey et al. School Starting Age and Cognitive Development, (2017). DOI: 10.3386/w23660[PDF]
(Score: 2) by aclarke on Tuesday September 12 2017, @12:54AM (1 child)
Interesting question. It's one we grappled with a bit here in Ontario. My kids are both born very early in the year (yay them), but a family member's child was born right at the end of December. I suggested they just hold him back a year, but got a look of confusion in return from the parents they're the sorts who are going to follow authority. The schools here very much discourage that sort of thing. That being said, another friend did just that. His son was born in December and he pushed the issue and he's now in the grade behind where the Board of Education wanted to place him.
My first thought on reading this article was confusion about a University of Toronto professor saying students born in September will do better as they're older. I guess that's an American thing, as pointed out at the end of TFS. In Ontario, land of U of T, the cutoff is December 31 / January 1.
(Score: 2) by kazzie on Tuesday September 12 2017, @07:43AM
September is the cut-off in the UK, as well.