Hello,
After doing some searching, I found many conversations about redshirting on this forum. However, I could not find conversations about school entrants who are simply older or younger than the average by some months.
I have noticed a trend with my two children. Neither has been diagnosed with any attention disorder and neither has been IQ tested. My eldest was an older entrant into kindergarten, about 5 months older than average. My youngest was a younger entrant in kindergarten. On achievement tests like our state test and Iowa Assessments, my eldest, now in 5th grade, has consistently scored in the qualifying range for our district's gifted program. My youngest generally scores below the 35th percentile on grade level achievement tests. Could this be due to the age differential between them? I imagine siblings should score somewhat similarly. It also seems reasonable that students older or younger for their grade by many months will score higher or lower respectively. I can see how being a year older than average (traditional redshirt) would provide test advantages, but would advantages or handicaps be pronounced with children who are 4-5 months older or younger than average?
I am interested in discussing this with the school, but I want to see if this community can hone my questions and thought process.
