Academic Redshirting
Sarah Harris
It’s Kindergarten Registration time, which means it’s time for parents of 5-year olds everywhere to lie awake in the middle of the night pondering the age-old question: “Is my baby really ready for kindergarten?!”
Well, maybe it’s not such an old question. When I started kindergarten nearly 40 years ago, I was 4. The cut-off birthdate at the time was December 31, putting me and my mid-November birthday well within the range of eligibility. My parents likely didn’t think twice about enrolling their 4-year old in kindergarten, even if I was small (and shy) for my age.
Today, however, you’ll likely see the question posed on parents’ group pages on Facebook or hear chatter at the local playgrounds, as parents try to determine if their kids have what they need to be successful in kindergarten. While the percentage is still relatively low, more and more parents are holding their kindergarten-eligible kids back a year, a practice known as “academic redshirting.”
The term comes from college athletics, where students begin competing their sophomore year instead of as freshman to gain size, strength, skill, and experience to be more competitive athletes. It’s becoming a more common practice for 5-year olds, too, particularly among upper-middle class white families and, most specifically, among affluent parents of white boys.
Many of these families look at their age-eligible child and believe that they are not big enough, socially capable enough, or mature enough to handle the rigor of kindergarten and that another year of preschool will give their child the size, strength, skill, and experience they will need to be successful in kindergarten and beyond. (Think…high school sports.)
Numerous studies have shown that the academic and social benefits of redshirting don’t last, and even if being a year bigger, stronger, and faster might benefit a high school athlete…we’re talking about kindergartners here and shouldn’t be “optimizing” for a what a kid may or may not be interested in pursuing a decade from now.
When you’re considering whether to enroll your age-eligible child to kindergarten or send them to one more year at a private preschool, consider the skills they actually need in order to be successful in school and use the time between now and the first day of school to develop those skills: Can they sit and listen to a story? Can they follow simple instructions? Can they indicate to a grown-up when they need help? Can they open their own lunch containers? (I mean, that’s not a requirement but it sure does help in a hectic cafeteria!)
Also consider the children who will be entering kindergarten as 4- or young 5-year olds with little to no preschool experience…not because their family doesn’t value education or didn’t want to send them to preschool, but because access to high-quality preschool is not available to all kids.
Shannon Gillikin, a local kindergarten teacher in Charlottesville City Schools, explains how this widening range of “school readiness” impacts her classroom:
“As a [kindergarten] teacher with a class of 20+ children, I have kids who are still 4 and have never attended preschool and then six year olds who have had 3+ years of preschool. In case you were wondering where the so-called “gap” comes from. It’s an opportunity gap.
I will teach all of them, the wiggly 5-year old, the 6-year old who is already reading, and the wide-eyed four-year old who has never seen a classroom. Parents, just send your child to school.”
Gilikin also disputes the presumption that redshirting is appropriate for kids with developmental delays.
“I have a special education degree and am fiercely passionate about inclusion and access to services for all my students…It’s not my goal as a special education teacher to make your child’s disability ‘go away’ but to help them access education and achieve at their highest level. Developmental disabilities do not go away with more time.”
In fact, enrolling children with developmental delays in kindergarten on time might provide additional opportunities for extra support from the many therapists and special educators that serve students through the school system.
For many parents, though, the strongest argument for redshirting is that kindergarten is different today than it was 40 years ago and that they are trying to give their kids “the gift of time” by holding them back (one more year of play, one more year “just being a kid”). While it’s true that kindergarten is practically the new first grade, making individual decisions for your child’s advantage does nothing to disrupt a system that favors the privileged.
Instead, advocate for better early childhood opportunities for all!
Demand universal, free, high-quality preschool for every child. Demand that it’s accessible to working parents, too, by offering extended day options.
Advocate for more PLAY for our youngest students. Set students up for a successful school career, not by holding them back, but by creating a kindergarten that gives kids what they need when they need it: lots of time spent in child-directed free play (preferably in nature!).
Advocate for smaller kindergarten class sizes with full-time instructional assistants so the grown-ups can effectively model school behavior, facilitate social interactions, and provide students the individualized support they need to be successful in school.
And send a coffee gift card to your favorite Kindergarten Teacher. They sure could use it.
Sources:
Investigating the Prevalence of Academic Redshirting Using Population-Level Data
Is Your Child Ready for Kindergarten?
“Academic Redshirting” in Kindergarten: Prevalence, Patterns, and Implications