Birth Dates Schools Good timing
As research suggests summer-born babies miss out on top university places and are more likely to be bullied, Angus Cater argues the case for planned birth dates
You
probably think this is an article about picking the right school for your child. Well, it’s not, even though that is important. It’s about the timing of conception.
In 2008, the author Malcolm Gladwell published Outliers (Penguin). In
it, among other things, he set out data of the birth dates of elite ice hockey players in the Canadian league: 40% were born in January and March, 30% between April and June, 20% between July and September, and 10% between October and December. The relevance of this is that the cut off for age selection in junior leagues, where all these players are fi rst picked out for nurturing, special coaching, and much more practice, is 1st January. At the age of 9 or 10 the impact of one year’s maturity is enormous and then all that extra coaching turns a talented but more mature child into a star. I expect you think that this only applies to physical maturity and its impact
on sports. I’m afraid not. Gladwell tells of two economists (Bedard and Dhuey) who examined the relationship between The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (Maths and Science tests given every four years to many children around the world) and their month of birth. They found that among fourth graders, the oldest children scored somewhere between four and 12 percentile points better than the youngest children. It means that with two children of similar intellectual ability taking the same test the older one could score 80% and the younger one 68%. A huge diff erence. Roger Barnsley, the psychologist who fi rst drew the world’s attention to
“relative age” argued that “skewed age distribution exists whenever three things happen: selection, streaming, and diff erentiated experience.” In UK independent education all the above happen. All the best schools
are highly selective; streaming from an early age (9 or 10) is standard, and those that get picked for sports teams, orchestras, or advanced academic groups get a diff erentiated experience. What starts as an accident of birth then becomes a “self fulfi lling prophesy”. The school academic year starts in September so if that is your birth
month you will be, self evidently, the oldest in your year. However, if your child is born in the last quarter of the academic year (June, July, August),
they are competing for selection with those who are nearly a year older. Further research released by the Institute of Fiscal Studies at the beginning of November adds weight to this. It found that children born in August scored substantially lower in national achievement tests and other measures of cognitive skills. Should you therefore be holding your child back so that they fall into the older category? The impact of playing the system will mean that your child may get
considerable advantages and will therefore grow in self confi dence, as all achievement lays the building blocks for future success. “I can, therefore I will” becomes a compelling mantra. It may be that your child has no particular talent but all of us pit ourselves against our peers and doing better relative to them will boost our chances of success in life. It goes without saying that although my argument, thanks to Roger Barnsley
and Malcolm Gladwell, is based on hard statistical evidence there are many other factors which will aff ect your child’s future, not the least of which is the ability to work hard and take advantage of the opportunities that come their way. You could even argue that age-based success creates an illusion of talent and it may be a disadvantage later in life when the maturity advantage disappears. However, the power of confi dence should not be underestimated and perhaps teachers should stop confusing maturity with ability. So what are your options as parents. You could plan the conception of your
child so that they are born in August or September or you can manage their school career so that they are not competing with more mature children from the beginning. Most independent schools take children from 2 ½ but compulsory education need not start until fi ve. The French do not send their children to school full time until fi ve so you have a few choices. Finally, if your “young” child is in the system and struggling, then repeating
a year may be an option. It doesn’t mean your child is thick, just suff ering from an unfair age diff erential. Food for thought for the termly discussion with your child’s teachers!
Angus Cater is a Governor at Prior’s Field School in Godalming. He was educated at Sherborne and his birthday is 28th June!
www.fi rstelevenmagazine.co.uk Michaelmas 2011 FirstEleven 25
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