Why this topic keeps coming up in school meetings
As a Special Education Director, I sit in a lot of kindergarten transition meetings with families, preschool teams, and elementary staff. One question comes up every spring like clockwork: “Should we wait a year?” In other words, should a child start kindergarten when they are first eligible, or delay entry for a year—often called academic redshirting?
The idea sounds appealing. If a child is older, they may seem more confident, more coordinated, and more ready to handle the routines of school. Many families have heard the argument popularized in books and media: older students in a grade sometimes have an advantage.
But when we look closely at the research summarized by Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach and Stephanie Howard Larson (Education Next, Summer 2017), the story becomes more nuanced. Redshirting can create a short-term boost for some children, but it may also create real long-term costs—academically, socially, and financially.
What “redshirting” means in kindergarten
Redshirting in sports means holding an athlete back from competition so they can develop for a year. In kindergarten, it means a family chooses to delay entry even though the child is age-eligible. The child starts kindergarten a year later and becomes one of the oldest students in the class.
Schools and preschools sometimes frame this as “the gift of time.” That phrase is powerful—and sometimes accurate. But it’s also worth remembering that recommendations can come with mixed incentives:
- Preschools may benefit from an additional year of tuition.
- Elementary schools may find older students easier to teach and more likely to score higher early on simply due to age.
Why families consider delaying kindergarten
Most families considering redshirting aren’t trying to “game the system.” They’re trying to do the right thing with limited information. The most common concerns tend to fall into a few buckets:
- Social-emotional maturity (confidence, separation, handling frustration, making friends)
- Attention and work habits (sitting for group time, following multi-step directions)
- Fine motor development (pencil grip, cutting, writing stamina)
- Physical size (especially for children who are small for their age)
This decision often feels most urgent for families of children with birthdays close to the cutoff date (commonly around September 1). If a child starts “on time,” they may be among the youngest. If they wait, they may be among the oldest.
A key insight: springtime development doesn’t predict fall readiness very well
One of the most practical takeaways from the article is this: a child’s skill level in the spring—when many families must decide—can be a poor predictor of how they will look in September or October.
Development in early childhood is not linear. It comes in bursts. A child who struggles with attention in April may look entirely different by fall. The same goes for language growth, self-regulation, and fine motor skills.
Who is most likely to redshirt?
Redshirting is not the norm. For the kindergarten class entering in fall 2010, about 6.2% of families reported delaying entry. Rates were a bit higher for boys than girls.
Another important pattern: redshirting is more common among families with higher levels of parent education. For example, the article notes that college graduates were about twice as likely to redshirt their sons as high-school graduates. Among summer-born boys with college-educated parents, redshirting rates were especially high—up to about one in five—though most still started on time.
What the research says: short-term gains, but they fade
Here’s the clearest research message for families and educators: being older at kindergarten entry can create a short-term advantage in the early grades, but that advantage tends to dissipate over time.
That early boost makes sense. A child who is a year older has had more time for brain development and more time for everyday learning—books, conversations, play, routines, and experiences. But by high school, the age difference is proportionally much smaller, and the early academic edge often disappears.
Researchers have studied this in creative ways (because true randomized trials of redshirting don’t exist). For example:
- Some studies use differences in state cutoff dates to estimate the impact of being older at entry.
- Other studies leverage classroom assignment patterns to understand “relative age” effects among peers.
A commonly misunderstood area: special education referrals and retention
The article notes that older students are statistically less likely to be retained or referred for special education identification (including ADHD). In practice, this can happen because schools sometimes make referral decisions based on how a child compares to classmates in the same grade.
From a district leadership lens, I want to be very clear: special education is not something to fear, and delaying kindergarten solely to avoid a possible referral can be the wrong goal. If a child has a disability, early identification and support are protective factors.
That said, families do deserve accurate information. If a child is young-for-grade, teams should be thoughtful about developmentally appropriate expectations, data-based decision-making, and high-quality interventions before jumping to labels.
The peer effect: why being the oldest can sometimes backfire
One of the most compelling parts of the research summary is about peer composition. Children learn from peers—academically, socially, and behaviorally.
In general, students benefit from being in classrooms with well-regulated, engaged peers. Research cited in the article suggests that even one disruptive peer in an elementary classroom can have measurable negative long-term effects on classmates.
This matters for redshirting because delaying entry changes a child’s peer group. A redshirted child may end up surrounded by classmates who are, on average, less mature. For some children—especially those who are already socially aware, academically curious, or easily frustrated—this can lead to boredom, disengagement, or social mismatch.
The article shares real-world examples of children who were redshirted and then struggled later because they were out of sync with their younger peers—either bored academically or frustrated socially.
When might delaying kindergarten actually make sense?
The authors’ overall conclusion is that redshirting is generally not worth it, but they do acknowledge “unique circumstances” where it may be reasonable. From both research and what I see in schools, those situations may include:
- Significant developmental delays outside the typical range, where an extra year may meaningfully close gaps
- Major life trauma or instability (for example, serious illness in the family)
- Complex medical needs where timing and services must be coordinated carefully
Even in these cases, the best decision is usually made through a team conversation that includes the family, preschool providers, and the receiving kindergarten team—grounded in data and a realistic plan for supports.
A practical checklist for families and school teams
If you’re advising families (or you are a family making this decision), here are questions that often lead to clearer next steps:
- What does the child look like in structured group settings (not just at home)?
- Are concerns primarily about maturity, or are there signs of a developmental delay needing intervention?
- What supports could be put in place in kindergarten (routines, visuals, small-group instruction, OT/SLP strategies, behavior supports)?
- How will delaying entry affect the child socially (being older, bigger, or more mature than peers later on)?
- Is the decision based on the child’s needs—or on pressure, comparisons, or fear?
Where TinyEYE fits into readiness conversations
Because TinyEYE provides online therapy services to schools, we often support districts navigating therapist staffing shortages while still trying to do right by students—especially during early childhood transitions. Whether a child starts kindergarten on time or later, timely access to services like speech-language therapy and occupational therapy can make a meaningful difference in school adjustment and skill development.
When districts can maintain consistent service delivery (even when in-person staffing is tight), teams are better positioned to make decisions based on student need rather than service availability.
Bottom line
Redshirting can feel like a simple solution to a complex question. But the research summarized here suggests the benefits are often short-lived, and the social and peer-group effects can be underestimated. For most children, starting kindergarten when first eligible is a sound choice—especially when schools partner with families to provide developmentally appropriate expectations and early supports.
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