Disclaimer: I have not read the book.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ian Curtis
For example, on 4th grade aptitude tests a student born immediately following the grade cutoff on average scored 14% higher than students born closer to the cutoff for the following year.
|
I would certainly hope so; that child has had 11 more months of existence and brain development; cognitively (s)he is much older than classmates. In the fourth grade, that is a big big deal.
Empirical evidence is good, and certainly has its place. Especially when related to things such as robot design and construction. However, if my parents had waited the extra year to place me into school, I may have lost the drive, the motivation, the challenge in that year of academic inactivity.
As has been said before, this is not a black-and-white issue; statistics derive from people but people are not statistics. Your individual mileage may vary.
I wasn't too pretty do to homework, and I don't believe I've ever met anybody who is.