"Research consistently reports that 'holding' children back does not increase a child's learning potential, rate of learning, or knowledge. In fact, if anything, it decreases it. If parents and teachers decide a child is socially immature, thus, not ready for kindergarten, then, logic would say that putting him with other immature children, those a year younger, will only increase immature behaviors. Playing with children who are at or slightly above a child's maturity level gives the child an opportunity to observe more skillfull social interactions, thus providing for him a model to follow. Study after study has been done to determine if children benefit from 'being held back.' Typically, these studies are academic. In order to determine any benefits, large numbers of children are evaluated. One child in a class is not a good ruler to use for making this determination. The best of research is not 100% accurate. Afterall, we are dealing with unpredictable beings. What is true about a child one day, is not just a month later. The research compares children who are 'held back' for a variety of reasons, with children who are not, even though they have the same characteristics as the ones 'held back,' including social immaturity, lack of sufficient academic progress, etc.. At first, it appears that the 'held back' children have benefitted more than the ones who aren't. But, as the years progress, those benefits decrease, and, by the time they finish high school, the children who are not 'held back' have superior social skills, academic achievement, emotional stability, and necessary physical attributes. It seems counter-intuitive, though. Teachers routinely believe that holding a child back is wise when the child is immature either socially or academically. They base their reasoning on a few children and usually only keep up with the children the first few years. They also rely on incidental information including another teacher who agrees. No amount of empiracal data will convince them otherwise. This attitude is common to all teachers, again proven by research. Teachers, as a rule, rely on their own observations and discount research that does not support their beliefs. This is not meant to denigrate teachers. Not only is this a common teacher trait, it is a common human one. There has also been extensive research on retaining children in a grade including 'holding the child back' for another year before starting school. Even though the 'held back' child may never have even attended school, eventually he learns that his parents didn't think he was smart enough to go to school. Even though the parents reasoning may not have had anything to do with the child's academic readiness, the child thinks it is because he wasn't worthy of being promoted or beginning school. Parents, as a rule, report great benefit from 'holding back' or retaining a child in pre-k or kindergarten. Again, basing critical decisions on the experiences of one child is unwise. Bottom line: there is no research among the hundreds of research projects that have evaluated the efficacy of 'holding a child back' or retaining him that would support the practice. None. Regarding keeping a child from starting school because he or she is physically less mature, or shorter than his/her potential classmates. Children should start school at the recommended date. It has been my experience that children who are short in comparison to their own peer group, are, often, short in the next one, the one a year younger. If your child's birthday is September 2 in a state where the cut-off is September 1, be grateful that your child will be among the oldest in his class, not the youngest. There is some social advantage to being among the oldest, though, not enough to warrant 'holding a child back.' Just allow the system to work. It does with routine success. On occasion there are some glitches, so be alert, keep up with your child, talk to him, with him. Again, there are always exceptions in any research. There is no such thing as 'with 100% assurance.' Children who are 'held back' or retained report even in their 30s and 40s the devestating effect of that practice on their self-esteem and confidence. It is second only to the death of a parent in the list of events that are most profound. The answer: teach children where they are. Individualize (easier said than done but worth the effort to learn how and to try). Provide more time on learning for children who are academically struggling. This can be carried out without it being punishment. Games and toys can be incorporated. For children who are socially or emotionally immature, make sure that for part of the day those children interact with children who are more mature in a positive way. They exhibit traits of caring, compassion, understanding, and friendship. Provide opportunites for children which require social interaction. Daily, teach children how to act by 'play acting' situations in which they might find themselves. Discuss classroom dilemmas or problems. Teach children to problem solve and, then, give them an opportunity to do so without intervention. Allow children to work out their own problems, again without intervention. If they can't, it may require re-teaching problem solving strategies. Parents can and should do the same at home. Providing the child with opportunities to contribute to the family by doing chores and being successful at them builds self-esteem. Allow the child to fail but be ready to assist if he or she wants it. Don't run in with the answer. When a chi! ld is unsuccessful, if he asks, question him until he discovers the solution: 'What are some things you could do that would be helpful?' Which is the way you want to try? When you are trying, what will that look like? How will you know if it worked? Often, the obvious or easiest solution to a problem is not the wisest one. Educational research has been clear on very few practices. However, it is incontrovertible on the issues above. The question is, 'How can we continue ignoring when we have information that proves it in favor of what 'feels right'? The title of this blog was 'Kindergarten teachers' views on school readiness.' Would we benefit more from New Zealand's philosophy on that subject? On the day of the child's fifth birthday he begins school. So,children are filtering in classrooms all year long. Instead of retaining children, they find ways to educate them that are different from the ones at which the child was unsuccessful. They don't keep beating a dead horse. The better question is 'Instead of the issue of a child's readiness for school, we should be working on the school's readiness for all children, no matter where they are in terms of their motor skills, academic skills, etc.' That is a topic that could be wisely discussed on this forum. "

"I have a granddaughter that I care for.I am having problems with if she if able to get in school or not.I am not able to put her back in the pre school she was in last year. Is there some how I am able to get her in a pre 4 this year.I will take any sugst thank you "

"HI I dont know how to teach my 2 and a half year old without drilling him I dont know how to make it fun.Do you have any ideas for me he doesnt seem to focus and i think its because I've let him watch too much tv.Please help . "

"My son will turn 5 years old on September 9, 2008 and I have learned that the cut off date in Texas is September 1. Is there any leniency to this rule since it is only an 8 day difference. And If no then should I wait until December to start him in Kindergarden. Thanks"

"I agree with this almost completely. I think parents know best and as long as the children aren't 3yrs old i think the parent should be given a little bit of control over when their child starts school. (within reason) I also think teachers are very very helpful at helping your child alone if they are not completely ready for school yet. But i think the government makes it hard if not impossible for the teachers to do that these days. I think the SOL's was a horrible idea and should be stopped. I think it makes the teacher focus on getting the kids who are good in school to do better to bring up Sol's for the school and the others just fall short. "

"Look at the article about Kindergarten readiness....my son who was born end of Dec and the cut off date in CA is Dec 1st or 2nd miss it....meets all the guidlines. My concern is what if I wait to start him in K the following year what if he is not challenged enough and that causes him to loses interest..."

"My daughter's birthday is in the middle of December. I felt she was ready for kindergarten and found a catholic school who agreed and accepted her. They did not have a formal policy of Dec 1 cutoff. A new principal came to the school and now wants to enforce this cutoff date. Grades 1 to 8 have been grandfathered in but she won't grandfather the current kindergarten class. That means my daughter will have to complete kindergarten again. She does not have any behavior issues, all her work comes home with 'stars' and 'greats' on them. Her lowest test grade has been 88. Don't know what to do."

"I have been living abroad for many years due to my work, I married in this forreign country and my kids have been raised here and speak spanish and no english from spending most of their time with spanish speaking relatives and in a spanish speaking country, now that I am planning to move back to the US, Texas to be more specific, are there programs in the school system there that can help my kids adjust to the new language, of course I will try to help, but I'm bad about speaking spanish to them and not enough english, please help."

"If you suspected your son to have a speech delay, you should seek the school district that you belong him and request to have your child evaulated. This is free of charge because the school district is responsible for early intervention. My son has been in speech for almost a year now and we bring him to the elementary school twice a week for him to work with the speech pathologist and he is not even in Kindergarten yet. Hope this helps!"

"my sons is about to be five and i think my sons may have some kind of speech problem. i dont know where to take him to get evaluated? please if some one can give me a tip, advise? thanks"

"My husband wants to wait a year to send our son because he feels he is too small/short and it will affect him with sports. Our son is ready in every other way. What advice can you give us and how big of difference will a year make?"

"My son is four years old and has gone to a preschool since he was three years old. He goes to a private school and everyone tells me how smart he is and advanced. He has improved a lot in school his teacher said with being mature. He took the test at the school he will be going to and to my surprise it was not good. The results came back and I know he know his stuff. His preschool teacher says. Let me tell you I am not one of the parents that my kid is perfect , because believe I know that he is not. My question is how much can you depend on the results they got. My son is also one on those you say slow done and you can do it and he does. Not making excuses, but what if it is a off day for the child. Just wondering. "

"Thank you for this article. My son turned five but part of me knew he was not 'ready' for school. I thought I was being over-protective and enrolled him anyway. It sis not go well. He had trouble socially and could not focus in class. He was constantly behind and his teacher had 28 other children to contend with. I pulled him out half way through the year, in December. We bought workbooks, and read. Used flash cards and colored. Bought a phonic program. I was a late kindergartener and I did quite well in school. He has improved so much at home that we may enroll him in 1st grade next year. In closing, the parent should follow their heart. Your child will thank you for it later."

"I have a daycare child that is autistic and his parents and I thought he would be given a waiver for a year to stay in the special ed program he has been in. The county says there is no money for waivers so he has to go to Kindergarten on time. We are extremely upset by this as we know that he is not ready for Kindergarten. He turns five this month but is at a 3 year old level. The supervisor says that it doesn't matter when he goes because he will need to repeat Kindergarten all over anyway. He is also currently attending a preschool special ed program at another school in the county and they plan on sending him to his base school for Kindergarten. How can we stop this and make the county pay to keep him where he is? The supervisor observed him one day before making this decision and those of us who are around him every day all day long, know that he shouldn't be moved. The special ed teacher requested he be given a waiver; the base school special ed dept asked for ! a waiver, as did his parents and I. Yet the school doesn't want to seem to listen. We can't figure out what money has to do with anything. It is the same county and our same tax dollars at work so who cares which school he attends? How do we get them to give him a waiver for one more year and keep him in the program he is already in?"

"My daughter is 4 years old and will be 5 in November. She's been going to Montessori in Ireland since she was 3. But since the family will be going home to California this summer for good, I've enrolled her in a public school. She'll be in Kindergarten this July since the school is open year round. My daughter already knows her numbers (1-20+), letters, and is starting to read. I'm thinking she might be a bit advance. Is there an exam to see if my daughter would qualify for 1st grade? I don't know exactly what the teachers teach in Kindergarten so I'm not sure if she is advance or not. But I'm thinking also that she may be too young to be in 1st grade. Can someone help? "

"Since so many schools are experiencing cutbacks, are ther any public schools still offering after school programs?"

"I recently ran into this issue. My youngest daughter is 4 years old & we were going to look into preschool for her in Sept. 09. However, we received a packet in the mail stating that she was ready for Kindergarten & was set for her orientation! Mind you, she won't be 5 until Dec. 1st. We know she's not ready for a full day @ school & she is right on the cutoff date-shouldn't those children born on Dec. 1st be given a bit of a leeway? I think it is unfair to try & 'push' these children through school. Our daughter is a smart and friendly,respectful little girl, but she is just a 'young' 4. So now, she doesn't qualify for preschool in our district-go figure! I feel that children should be worked with so that they can live up to their full potential & have a fantastic educational experience instead of feeling like they are being 'rushed' through. "

"As a kindergarten teacher for 12 years, I can say with certainty that kindergarten is not what it used to be. When I began teaching, the expectations were lower, and the skills which must be mastered were a lot less. My students, in a 2 1/2 hour half day program, are now expected to leave reading in order for them to be on track for state benchmark expectations. The demands and pressure on teachers and students are greater. It isn't enough anymore to say that the only requirement a child must meet to be ready for kindergarten is to be five years old and well-cared for, unfortunately. Yes, being cared for, well nourished and rested are vital for kindergarten success, but it is no longer enough."

"Yes, parents are a child's first and most important teacher but unlike school teachers they have no teaching degree or training. It would be helpful for parents to have a kindergarten readiness checklist (like one in Wm Bennett's book The Educated Child)to help them prepare their child and to turn-in to their child's teacher when the time comes."

"I need more advice. My son is going to be 5 and can't recognize letters. How do I get him into a special program in my area?"

" My son's experience at pre-school was a disaster. He was regressing & the teacher didn't know what to do. My husband took his report card to the principal of the public school he now attends and explained his issues to see what her opinion of his attending kindergarten at age 5. She felt he was a good candidate. She explained that this is a public school, but we have the resources to deal with the problems that private schools don't. Our private school teacher only talked down the public school system. In the end we sent him at age 5 and he is blossoming in kindergarten at a public school. He has a wonderful teacher and enjoys going to school every day. "

"I would love my children to attend early.One thing I can not stress enough is common courtesy, I think they should teach children proper way to cover a cough ,not your hand, wash wash wash hands after sneezing or before eating washing their work area,these things should be stressed everyday.My kindergartener has been sick so much, then well you know whole house gets it.How can he learn????????????Lets keep our kids that are sick home or in a sick room at the school not with all the other kids.Our child will be penalized because he is not at school but the other sick kids are still there spreading germs to your kids.Lets keep our kids healthy!I know alot of families without health ins. not to happy when you can't get state help ,and this money is coming out of your pocket every month!Kindergarten, lets teach them the basics first!!!! "

"Some of these cut off dates are crazy, I feel it should be up to the parents to deciede if there child can handle kindergarten, keeping them back a year, they will be big horses compared to kids born a different year, I know plenty of people growing up with late birthdays, and did fine! They graduated school at 17 1/2, some states have dates as early as June, that's nuts, preschool is not free, so take a little more time out with kids with late birthdays, a child born in April doesnot always mean he or she is smarter than a child born in November!"

"My second son missed the 'cutoff date' by one day. My local public school doesn't allow testing the children to see if they are ready. I spoke to my son's daycare teacher, she saw no reason to hold him back. I enrolled him in a private school and he has been in the top of his class ever since. My other son attends public school and has 8 children in his class that are almost a full year OLDER due to the cutoff date, and you can see there are disadvantages in holding the kids back. These children are physically/mentally older and change the learning of the other children in the class. "

"Specifically, what reading program do you use K-3, and what math program is used K and 1st? I teach child care providers and I'd like my information to be relevant and coordinate with the local school approach. Janice Johnson, Washington STARS trainer (STARS is the mandated state training for licensed child care providers)"

"My son will be attending school this year. What do I do if he starts to cry when I leave him in the class room. Im so worried about that."

"Private schools most certainly do help kids that are above average. So does home schooling. Alot of kids fail because of social reasons and thrive later in life when they are more able to confront tough situations in life. Whens the last time someone shot and killed people at a private school. I cant speak for all private schools but the ones I know I would recommend way ahead of public schools. Plus, you still have the right to use public school facilities, and your children can participate in most schools activites since you as a parent are still paying taxes to that school district, even though your children are not going there. The person who has a problem with private schools in this forum sounds like she has issues."

"There is no gift like 'the gift of time.' I would be more apt to sending a daughter earlier than a son. Howver, having said that: Avoid being so myoptic that you see only the first few years of school. Reading and 'academic readiness' levels out by third grade. (Just like the early walkers and the early to be potty trained, the playing field levels out for all children at some point.) She'll continue to develop and refine the cognitive skills she's already exhibited. It's in the intermediate grades that will be more of a concern as she needs to have the abstract thinking, inferential skills and critical reasoning. Her 'cohort peers' will have had already developed those skills based on their chronological age. She might possibly be behind them purely based on her age-- nothing to do with her IQ or CSI (Cognitive Skills Index). Emotionally and socially, she'll always be the youngest-- and you're soon to lose your ability to play the 'young card' by fourth grade. Think about what it'll be like for her when she the youngest in middle or junior high school-- an already awkward time for the 'late bloomers.' When she's a freshman in high school, do you want her to be the 14 year old freshman in school with 18, almost 19 year old senior boys? What will she be like as a 17 year old freshman at college. It's possible her friends will be 21 as sophmores; she'll wait until she's a senior to get into places legally. The money you'll spend in one more year of pre-school or daycare will be nothing compared to the money she'll spend in therapy in twenty years. They're only young for so long. She'll have the rest of her life for school and work. It's only 10 more moths of play and creativity if you hold her out. Why send them off into the workforce one year sooner? "

"I have a daughter in Michigan that is in her 2nd year of preschool. She is in a group that is going into Kindergarten next year; however, her birthday is 12/3 making her 2 day to young for to enter Kindergarten in public and most private schools. She is flourishing with the kids that are a year older both socially and academically and I feel that it would be a hindrance to hold her back one more year, are there any ways of getting around the state cut off. I stay home with my children and am not looking for child care this is a social and academic issue. "

"My child is in preschool and he is not doing well with his work.Could not care ifhe goes or not.Do I need to keep my 4year old son in preschool again?"