This topic makes me so angry, so I'll leave it be for the most part. Needless to say with three boys, all with August birthdays (august 30th for two of them) I've encountered this with other parents numerous times and the conversations rarely go well.
My belief is that there should have to be valid proof of academic failure to hold a child back, especially at that age. Parents wanting to artificially get their children ahead by holding them back is downright cruel. My children were/are bored enough in K already...they'd really hate me if they had to do it again!
Are there cases where it should be done, absolutely! But those are not the ones that are the subject of "red shirting". I know many who do it, and it is all for the parents...not for their children. Examples like above where they appear smarter and are placed into gifted programing in later years due to it, thereby ruining the GT program with kids that don't need it and lowering instructional standards for those that do!
