#NNPA BlackPress

Delaying Kindergarten May Have Limited Benefit

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Students who started kindergarten a year later than their peers had measurable advantages in reading and math. Compared to the average academic growth of kindergartners, the academic advantage of “redshirted” children represented 20 percent to 30 percent of an academic year of learning.

Published

7 months ago

April 6, 2026

Oakland Post

By Christina A. Samuels, The Hechinger Report

This story was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news outlet focused on education.

When my son was about to turn 5, I was faced with a decision that may be familiar to parents of children whose birthdays are close to kindergarten enrollment cutoff dates.

In my local school district, children must be 5 years old on or ahead of Sept. 1 before they enroll in kindergarten. With a late September birthday, my son was only a few weeks too young to make that cutoff. A friend of mine whose child had a similarly timed birthday was trying for early enrollment. Should I, too?

Ultimately, I decided against it, swallowing thousands of dollars for another year of preschool tuition. Instead of starting kindergarten just a few weeks short of 5, my son started when he was just a few weeks away from turning 6. And while I was not “redshirting” — intentionally holding my child back for a year when he would have otherwise been allowed to enroll — the supposed benefits of redshirting were part of my thinking. Of course, I thought, boys need more time to mature, and starting school on the older end of his cohort would be a clear win.

But are those perceived benefits of redshirting — a term borrowed from athletics and sports eligibility rules — really true? A new study suggests that whatever academic boost children may experience when they are the oldest in their kindergarten class fades by the time they reach third grade.

“For the average kid, they’re not going to get that much of an advantage,” said Megan Kuhfeld, the director of growth modeling and data analytics at NWEA, an assessment and research organization behind the Measures of Academic Progress, or MAP, tests used by tens of thousands of schools across the country.

For this analysis, NWEA studied the 3 million students who took the kindergarten through second grade MAP Growth assessment between 2017 and 2025. Researchers also followed a cohort of students who started kindergarten in the 2021-22 school year to see what their test results looked like when they were in third grade, compared to when they entered school.

Students who started kindergarten a year later than their peers had measurable advantages in reading and math. Compared to the average academic growth of kindergartners, the academic advantage of “redshirted” children represented 20 percent to 30 percent of an academic year of learning.

That advantage didn’t last long, however. By the time students entered third grade, children who had been held back a year were indistinguishable from their peers academically.

The NWEA study didn’t dig into the factors behind these findings, but Kuhfeld has some theories. First, there might be some benefit to children of having older peers in the classroom to serve as academic and behavior role models. In other words, children like my son, who started school as an older 5-year-old, could be a positive influence on children who turned 5 shortly before the cutoff for kindergarten enrollment. Children who are already much older than their grade-level peers have no model to emulate.

The benefits of starting school late may also disappear because children who enter school already knowing the kindergarten curriculum may get bored, Kuhfeld said. Classrooms aren’t necessarily set up to push along children who are already meeting academic standards; instead, the teacher is likely to be focused on children who need more help.

Among the more surprising results of the study for me was that redshirting is relatively uncommon. For each of the years studied, about 5 percent of kindergartners started school a year after official eligibility. That peaked at 6.4 percent in fall 2021. The children most likely to be held back a year are white students and boys; redshirting was also more common in low-poverty and rural schools.

Considering how rare the phenomenon is, it sure is talked about a lot. Kuhfeld said that may be because people are more aware of, and worried about, the higher academic demands of kindergarten. Also, Kuhfeld said, the idea of holding children back gained more attention after a prominent author, Richard Reeves, wrote a 2022 article recommending that all boys be redshirted to give them an extra year for their brains to mature. (Rise Together, a fund established by Reeves, is one of The Hechinger Report’s many donors.)

Kuhfeld said that the study focused solely on academics, not behavioral outcomes or other factors, so parents should make decisions that work for their individual children.

But there are social implications of being older than your grade-level peers, she noted. Parents of kindergartners might not be thinking about this when their children are young, but what does it mean to be the first of your friends to go through puberty, or one of the oldest high school seniors?

“It’s worth considering there are trade-offs,” Kuhfeld said. “It’s often painted in conversation as, ‘Of course you would do this,’” she added. “There’s actually a lot of nuancehere.”

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

Sickle Cell Advocates Sound Alarm as Georgia Bill Advances, Federal Dollars Bypass Black-Led Groups

Don't Miss

Baltimore’s Turner Station Receives Federal Funding to Fight Flooding

Oakland Post

Click to comment

#NNPA BlackPress

Smooth Ride! Car Suspension & Comfort Tested #shorts

Smooth suspension meets surprisingly spacious legroom. Experience true comfort on any road!

Published

1 month ago

October 4, 2026

Oakland Post

Car suspension test demonstrating a smooth ride, comfort features, and handling on various terrains.

Experience the difference smooth suspension makes on rough streets. Check out the surprisingly good second-row legroom – test it yourself for true comfort.

Watch the full video: https://youtu.be/l9Z571za5Gc

#AutoNetwork

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

#NNPA BlackPress

61 years since Selma, Houston leaders say the bridge remains to be crossed

61 years after Selma, Houston leaders say the fight for equality continues. The issues that sparked the marches still impact Black Americans today.

Published

1 month ago

October 4, 2026

Oakland Post

Houston leaders discuss the ongoing struggle for civil rights 61 years after Selma, emphasizing the need for continued action.

It has been 61 years since the Selma marches. But political leaders in Houston say that the issues protesters were marching for still plague the lives of Black Americans.

Visit Our Website

Home – updated

Read more stories by our team
https://defendernetwork.com/category/news/opinion/

Sign-up for the Top 5 newsletter

Defender Newsletters

Donate/ Support Our Work

Contribute to the Defender Network

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

#NNPA BlackPress

Here is what you need to know about finding unique white elephant gift ideas that everyone wants to steal

The best white elephant gift ideas are funny enough to get a reaction but useful enough that people actually want to steal them. Look for gifts with a surprise factor, broad appeal, an inside joke, and just enough personality to spark some friendly competition. The wrapping paper comes off, the room goes quiet for half […]

Published

1 month ago

October 4, 2026

Oakland Post

The best white elephant gift ideas are funny enough to get a reaction but useful enough that people actually want to steal them. Look for gifts with a surprise factor, broad appeal, an inside joke, and just enough personality to spark some friendly competition.

The wrapping paper comes off, the room goes quiet for half a second, and suddenly everyone wants the same gift. That is the sweet spot. A great white elephant pick should make people laugh, lean in, and start plotting their next steal before the turn is even over.

Should a White Elephant Gift Be Funny or Useful?

A white elephant gift can be funny or useful, but the strongest choices usually give people a reason to laugh and a reason to keep the item. A practical gift with an odd design, unexpected feature, or playful theme can get a reaction without becoming something the recipient immediately wants to give away.

The right balance depends on the group. Close friends and family members may enjoy a ridiculous gag gift because they already understand one another’s sense of humor.

A workplace exchange, neighborhood party, or mixed-age gathering usually calls for something with broader appeal. In those settings, humor works better when it is built into an item people could still use afterward.

It also helps to think about how quickly the gift will make sense once it is opened. A strangely shaped kitchen tool, oversized mug, quirky desk accessory, or unexpectedly fancy everyday item can create an immediate reaction. Guests understand the joke right away, while the item still has enough practical value to attract a steal.

Pure gag gifts can be harder to pull off. Something that exists only for the punchline may get a big laugh during the reveal and then sit untouched for the rest of the game. If the goal is to bring one of the gifts everyone keeps fighting over, usefulness gives the joke staying power.

Memorable Present Ideas: Creating Inside Joke Gifts

Inside joke gifts can make a white elephant exchange feel much more personal, especially when most of the group shares the same stories. The trick is choosing a reference that people will recognize quickly instead of building the entire joke around something only two guests understand.

You can turn a memorable vacation mishap, office catchphrase, family story, or long-running group joke into the theme of the gift. A personalized comic book can work especially well when it turns familiar people or a ridiculous shared moment into part of the story.

Think carefully about who the joke involves before ordering anything permanent. The gift should make the person feel included in the fun, not singled out for the wrong reason.

Can You Bring Something You Already Own?

Holiday gift exchanges can be a good place to re-gift something you never used, especially if it is unopened and clean.

The following can all work if they still look presentable:

A duplicate kitchen gadget
An untouched game
A decorative item
A sealed gift set
An unopened candle
A new travel accessory

The goal is to give the item a second chance, not use the exchange as an excuse to clear out damaged or unwanted clutter.

Take a close look at the packaging before wrapping it. Faded boxes, missing pieces, visible wear, or anything that looks obviously used can make the gift feel careless.

Wrapping Budget-Friendly Gifts

Wrapping can make gifts more entertaining before anyone even knows what’s inside.

Misdirection works especially well for fun party games. Put a small gift inside a much larger box. Use packaging from an unrelated household item.

Add harmless weight so guests cannot guess what they are holding. The reveal becomes part of the joke without changing the gift itself.

You can also lean into the theme of the exchange. Bright paper, oversized bows, reusable bags, or deliberately over-the-top wrapping can make an ordinary item feel more memorable. If the gift itself is already funny, simple wrapping may work better so the surprise stays hidden until the last second.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Picking Last an Advantage in White Elephant?

Picking last can be an advantage because you get to see almost every gift before making your move. Instead of choosing blindly from the remaining wrapped presents, you can steal something that has already caught your attention if the rules still allow it.

That advantage depends on the house rules. Some games limit how many times a gift can be stolen.

Others lock an item once it reaches a certain number of steals. If the most popular gifts are already unavailable, the final player may have fewer strong options than expected.

The first player can also get another turn at the end in some versions of the game. That rule can balance things out, since the person who started with the least information may get one final chance to steal.

How Do You Plan White Elephant for a Large Group?

For a large white elephant exchange, set a firm spending limit and establish the stealing rules in advance.

Create a clear turn order before the game begins. Drawing numbers as guests arrive can save time once everyone is ready to start.

Keep the number of steals per gift limited so the game does not drag on. It also helps to have one person track which creative holiday presents have been stolen and when they are locked, especially if dozens of people are participating.

Can You Play White Elephant Virtually?

A virtual white elephant exchange can work over a video call, with one person keeping track of the turn order and each steal. Guests can either mail physical gifts ahead of time or use digital gifts that can be delivered once the game ends.

Set the spending limit and stealing rules before everyone joins. It also helps to decide how gifts will be revealed and who is responsible for sending each one afterward so the exchange does not become confusing.