The Impact of Age, Sex, and Ethnicity on Kindergarten Entry and Retention Decisions

Abstract

Kindergarten plays an important role in a child’s socialization to the school system. Increased academic accountability at upper grades has resulted in an “escalation” of the curriculum in many kindergarten programs. As a result of this policy, many parents are holding children out of school until they are more academically “ready.” Kindergarten retention for children who are not ready for first grade has also become a common practice, despite evidence that many children do not benefit from this intervention. The impact of these policies and practices on Anglo and Latino children was the focus of this study. Differences in the age of entry to kindergarten and the use of kindergarten retention as functions of a child’s sex and ethnicity were assessed in three school districts. The impact of these policies on early school failure and alternative methods for addressing diverse student needs are discussed.

Retention of Hispanic/Latino students in first grade: Child, parent, teacher, school, and peer predictors

“…H/L children subsequently retained in first grade have lower literacy skills. Retained children are also young for grade, a finding consistent with results of research with non-H/L (Mantzicopoulos, 2003) and H/L samples (Cosden et al, 1993). Retained children were rated by their teachers as less engaged, achieving at a lower level in the classroom, less ego resilient, and as experiencing less teacher support, and their parents reported a lower sense of shared responsibility for their child's success in school.…”

“…In a recent study of several school districts, Spanish-dominant children placed in bilingual classrooms outperformed similar students in English-immersion programs over the course of their schooling (Thomas & Collier, 2002). As discussed above, H/L students were retained at a higher rate in schools in which H/L students constitute a minority of the student population (Cosden et al, 1993).…”

“…Children who enter public school younger than classmates perform less well than their classmates academically and socially, at least in the early grades (Stipek & Byler, 2001). H/L children often start school younger than do Caucasian children (Cosden et al, 1993), and H/L parents are less likely to delay school entrance based on low readiness skills (Diamond, Reagan, & Bandyk, 2000). Furthermore, H/L students are less likely to have attended an academically oriented preschool than are Caucasian or African-American children (Magnuson & Waldfogel, 2005).…”

“…To our knowledge, only one published study has investigated predictors of grade retention for H/L samples (Cosden, Zimmer, & Tuss, 1993). These investigators studied age of entry to kindergarten and gender as predictors of kindergarten retention in Anglo and Latino (their designations) populations.…”

Decision-Making Perspectives for Kindergarten Entry

“…Younger non-minority (termed "Anglos" in the study) boys were more likely to be delayed for kindergarten entrance by their parents than other children. Latino boys were more likely to enter school younger, to be identified as at risk, and to be retained at the end of kindergarten (Cosden, Zimmer, & Tuss, 1993).…”