A new study shows that holding a child back a year and not starting kindergarten 'on time' doesn't have the long lasting benefits some parents might think. Megan Kuhfeld, Director of Growth Modeling & Data Analytics says there has been and, 'Increase in rhetoric,' from parents talking about starting kindergarten a year later, or 'redshirting.' In reality, she found that only about 5% of all overall students start late, so the trend is not as common as one would think
She says students entering a year late generally have a stronger advantage in reading compared their of-age peers, that academic advantage is, 'gone by 3rd grade.'
Apr 08, 2026
