Kindergarten cut-off dates and lifelong success
See this NY Times article which talks about how the increased academic pressure on Kindergarten students is leading many states to move their cut off dates earlier in the year. NYC public schools continue to have among the latest cut offs for Kindergarten, December 31, according to the allied chart.
New York City private school cut off dates are much earlier; and it is very common when a child is applying to a private school, especially boys, that they suggest that they reapply the next year for Kindergarten again.Though the red-shirt issue mentioned only in passing in the article, the research is clear that kids who are old for their age group are far more likely to excel. The number of professional athletes is significantly linked to their month of birth.
Here’s a good explanation of how this accumulated advantage works in sports. For example, see this article , which reveals how elite Canadian youth hockey teams are more likely to have players born early in the calendar year, a phenomenon also found among professional hockey players. This “accumulated advantage” over time was named the Matthew effect by sociologist Robert