Research by Susan M. Dynarski on academic redshirting cited in Newsweek Education

February 8, 2011

Research by Susan M. Dynarski was cited in a Newsweek Education article about academic redshirting called "The Problem With Holding Kids Back from Kindergarten."

According to the article, researchers differ on whether the practice of delaying kindergarten entry, or "red shirting," results in a long-term academic advantage for the children, but more and more parents (and schools) think it's a good idea. In Dynarski's 2008 study, "The Lengthening of Childhood," she and her co-author David Deming found that the number of 6-year-olds in the first grade (or higher) has been decreasing since 1968. Some think that having their children start school later gives them an advantage, but if all parents hold their children back then "we're right back where we started ..... It's a zero-sum game," Deming explained to Newsweek.