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The School-Entry-Age Rule Affects Redshirting Patterns and Resulting Disparities in Achievement

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  • Philip J. Cook
  • Songman Kang

Abstract

Since, other things equal, older children do better in school, the extent and pattern of delayed entry affects observed patterns in academic performance. This paper provides three new sets of relevant findings, utilizing comprehensive data on birth cohorts of children who enrolled in first grade in North Carolina public schools.: (1) Delayed entry (redshirting) reduces the male-female achievement gap by 11%; (2) For each of 6 groups defined by sex and race/ethnicity, the likelihood of redshirting is strongly inversely related to academic ability; and (3) A recent shift in the cut date to earlier in the calendar year reduced redshirting, and provided clear evidence that parental decisions are tied to the absolute age of the child rather than age relative to classmates. The adaptation of redshirting to changes in the cut date is an important mechanism by which such changes affect patterns in academic outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Philip J. Cook & Songman Kang, 2018. "The School-Entry-Age Rule Affects Redshirting Patterns and Resulting Disparities in Achievement," NBER Working Papers 24492, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:24492
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Görlitz, Katja & Penny, Merlin & Tamm, Marcus, 2019. "The Long-Term Effect of Age at School Entry on Competencies in Adulthood," IZA Discussion Papers 12157, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Goncalo Lima & Luis Catela Nunes & Ana Balcao Reis & Maria do Carmo Seabra, 2022. "No country for young kids? The effects of school starting age throughout childhood and beyond," Nova SBE Working Paper Series wp639, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Nova School of Business and Economics.
    3. Cook, Philip J. & Kang, Songman, 2020. "Girls to the front: How redshirting and test-score gaps are affected by a change in the school-entry cut date," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality

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