How young is too young to start school? Five? Four? Maybe six?
And is there a substantial long-term educational benefit to entering kindergarten at an earlier age? Well, some studies say “no.” Research from the University of Cambridge in England, conducted by the Primary Review, found no clear evidence that children are benefited by starting school earlier. Children in England traditionally begin school at 5 years old, while most other European countries have a school starting age of six or seven. Summer vacation for British schoolchildren is also shorter than in many other European countries.
Finland, which starts children in school at seven years old, has one of the best educational performance rates in Europe. Poland, similarly, begins formal education at the age of seven, and has begun to surpass England in signs of educational advancement.
What’s your view? Should students in America continue entering kindergarten at age five (four in many cases) or start later?
Read the full BBC article here.
