Exploring the Associations Between Delayed School Entry and Achievement in Primary and Secondary School

Abstract

This research investigated whether delayed school entry was associated with higher achievement in national tests of reading and numeracy in Grades 3, 5, 7, and 9 (<i>n</i> = 2,823). Delayed entry was related to advantages in reading (0.14 <i>SD</i>) and numeracy (0.08 <i>SD</i>) at Grade 3, although little variance was explained (1%–2%). This slight advantage persisted for both domains in Grades 5 and 7, albeit with smaller effects. In Grade 9 there was no association between delayed entry and either reading or numeracy. Exploratory analyses with subsamples in each grade (<i>n</i> = 424–667) revealed no associations between delayed entry and achievement after controlling for inattention and hyperactivity, and negative associations between inattention and achievement in all grades in both domains (−0.33, −0.49 <i>SD</i>).