If you have a summer-birthday little one, you’ve heard the question: Should we wait a year? Lately it can feel like every family is doing it. New research says it’s actually much quieter than all the talk makes it seem. First, the word. “Redshirting” comes from college sports, when an athlete sits out a season to build skills. In schools, it means choosing to start a child in kindergarten a year late, even though they’re old enough to enroll.
NWEA, a K-12 research organization, looked at more than three million kindergartners between fall 2017 and 2025. In an average year, about 5% were redshirted. The rate peaked at 6.4% in fall 2021, as some families waited out the pandemic school year, and it’s about the same as in the 1990s and 2000s. The researchers say it may seem like a rising trend simply because so many more people are talking about it.
The early head start doesn’t last, either. Kids who start later tend to score higher in reading and math at first, but the gap closes. By third grade, redshirted kids score about the same as classmates who started on time.
Who’s waiting? In states with a Sept. 1 cutoff, more than two-thirds of the kids redshirted in 2025 had June, July or August birthdays. Redshirting was also more common among boys and in lower-poverty and rural schools. Cost may be part of it: an extra year of childcare averages about $12,000.
There’s no one right answer. Some children, especially those who need more time to grow socially or emotionally, may benefit from the extra year. For most, the academic edge fades, and the researchers note possible long-term downsides too, like a higher risk of dropping out of high school and lower lifetime earnings. NWEA’s advice is to weigh a child’s readiness, temperament and developmental needs, and to lean on the educators who know your child.
If you’re sitting with this decision, you’re not alone, and you’re not behind either way. Most families start on time, and for most kids, the academic difference evens out within a few years. You know your child best.
Something to carry into this week: readiness has a lot of sides. How a child handles a busy room, a hard moment, a long day. Teachers who see them every day often notice things families don’t, so it’s worth asking them.
Sources: NWEA, “Should Kindergartners Be Redshirted? Costs Likely Outweigh Academic Benefits,” March 2026; The 74; Education Week. This article is for information only and is not advice for any individual child.
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