ISLAND VOICES
Preschool experience is key

By Stephanie Feeney
Professor of education at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa

Senate Bill 2032, which advances the date used to determine a child's kindergarten entry age from Dec. 31 to June 30, raises many issues and calls for careful examination of its potential impact.

The bill relies heavily on data from a study conducted in Hawai'i that found that on 8th-grade standardized reading and math tests, late-born students, boys in particular, had lower scores. Closer examination of this study has raised questions about the methodology used and its conclusions. Several national reviews of the research on age of school entry conclude that age disadvantages are seldom serious and usually disappear by third grade.

The supporters of the bill maintain that children born late in the year have greater likelihood of being learning-disabled. They don't define the kinds of learning disabilities or offer evidence that staying out of school for another year will be helpful.

Much current research shows that children are successful in school when they have meaningful learning experiences in the years before school entry. In the absence of these experiences, staying out of school for another year might result in more educational problems rather than fewer.

It is said in support of the bill that private schools don't admit children at as young an age as public schools do, and that some of these schools have different cutoffs for boys and girls. This is not a useful justification since families who can afford private schools are also able to provide their children high-quality preschool experiences. Many families cannot afford or do not have access to such programs.

The bill does not adequately address the fact that developmental diversity among kindergartners is the norm and that age is only one dimension of it. It was suggested that the Department of Education could assess which late-born children are "ready" and allow them to enter earlier than their peers. This is not feasible because not every school and kindergarten teacher agrees on what constitutes a "ready" child because young children are notoriously poor test takers, and because no test is currently available that can reliably determine "readiness" for school.

The change in age of entry may well be a good thing for some late-developing boys. The problem is that it will create an economic burden on many working families, requiring them to pay for child care for another year. Children who do not have positive learning experiences during the year they are kept from entering school may arrive even further behind than if they had entered according to the current cutoff dates.

Before we consider changing the age of school entry, we should work to provide high-quality, subsidized preschool for all families who need it. The new Pre-Plus program is a good first step, but it will serve only a small percentage of eligible children.

Another action that should be considered is to make kindergartens more responsive to children. The National Educational Goals Panel recommends that we look at readiness as the interaction of the qualities of the child and the practices of the school (a bill is currently being considered in the Hawai'i Legislature that defines readiness in this way). Children who are not successful in a highly structured program may do very well in one that allows for more active learning.

Issues pertaining to the age of school entry are complex and the topic can be emotional. It is hard not to get caught up in stories of children who have benefited from having an extra year to grow. SB 2032 states that changing the kindergarten entrance age "will result for the most good for the majority of the general public."

This does not appear to be the case. While it will benefit some children, it will hamper the development of others and will create an economic hardship for many parents.

The projected cost savings are also questionable.

I hope our legislators will put this bill to rest and focus their attention on proposals that will be beneficial for all of Hawai'i's young children.