Hold them back? Stanford education professor explains the research on kindergarten ‘redshirting’

What do researchers say about putting kindergarten off? (Photo: Meriwether Lewis Elementary School/Flickr Creative Commons) — What do researchers say about putting kindergarten off for an extra year? (Photo: Meriwether Lewis Elementary School/Flickr Creative Commons)

Hold them back? Stanford education professor explains the research on kindergarten ‘redshirting’

In this episode of School’s In, Thomas Dee talks about whether there are advantages to delaying the start of formal schooling.

September 18, 2017

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Many parents assume their kids will have an academic advantage if they postpone kindergarten enrollment for a year, a practice known as “redshirting.”

Evidence has suggested this isn’t the case. But Thomas Dee, a professor at Stanford Graduate School of Education, wondered if researchers investigating the question might have been looking in the wrong place.

“We reflexively look at test scores and educational attainment,” said Dee, who also directs Stanford’s Center for Education Policy Analysis (CEPA). “But if you start to unpack how developmental psychologists think about the gains of delaying school, it’s really about other measures.”

In this episode of Schools’ In, Dee joined Graduate School of Education Dean Dan Schwartz and Senior Lecturer Denise Pope to talk about his research on redshirting and its effect on children’s ability to control their behavior and stay focused in the classroom.

Listen from the link below, and find more episodes of School's In at the Stanford Radio main page. The show airs Saturdays on SiriusXM Insight Channel 121.