How old is your high school freshman? Or…..

[mommytobees]

::delurking::

 

Okay, I am no longer homeschooling (due to divorce), but I always come back here to check things…is like my brain.

 

What age is your high school freshman?  What age do most in YOUR area start 9th grade?

 

Another question:  

 

My son has a late April birthday.  What age should he be on Sept 1 to start 9th grade?  Should he be 14 years 4 months or 15 years 4 months??

 

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I ask because I am *regularly* getting odd looks and lack from educators here.  The school he is in (online) argued with me for 2 weeks until they tested him….. then, they changed their tune.  So, he is now 15 years 9 months (give or take) and in 10th grade.  Most of his peers are 6-12 months OLDER than he is.

 

Do kids not graduate at 18 anymore??

Thanks,

Kris

[TrixieB]

In my area, 9th graders are typically 14 years old on or before September 1 of their 9th grade year.  They turn 15 during their 9th grade year or during the summer following 9th grade.

 

It goes back to kindergarten entrance, age 5 on or before September 1.

 

Some kids are younger because they started school in a different state with a later cutoff, or for various other reasons.  Others are older due to redshirting, or because they started K in a private school with an earlier cutoff (May or June instead of September).

 

If your son started 9th grade at 14 years 4 months, that sounds in line with the ages of 9th graders here.

[Tiffnkids]

Typical age to start 9th is 14, sounds like your son is in the appropriate grade.

[elegantlion]

Ds was a 15 year old freshman. He has a early fall birthday, it was passed the cutoff when he went to private school. He started prek at 5, K at 6. He will turn 18 at the beginning of his senior year. 

 

I, otoh, graduated at 17 (a semester early). My birthday is in the spring and I was always one of the youngest in the class. 

[bettyandbob]

I would think an April birthday would be 14 at the start of ninth grade.

 

The cut off to start school in my area is September 30. So, every kindergartener is 5 by September 30. Some people choose to wait a year for children who have July and August birthdays. I have not heard of redshirting an April birthday. However, if you are transitioning from homeschool to public school and have reason to believe your ds could use an extra year this would be the time to do it.

 

In my house oldest has a November birthday and graduated at 17 ( freshman start at 13) Hindsight has shown this was not good. Dd, also November, will be 18 at graduation ( freshman start at 14). Youngest, august birthday, repeated K--he was the youngest, smallest, and has disabilities so it was a no brainier decision. He will be 15 the first day of ninth grade, having had his birthday the week before.

[Guest]

My son will be 14 years and 10 months when he starts 9th grade. This is on the "older" side, but it is due to the way the date cut-offs were when he was five. At the time, the cut-off was October 1 to be 5 to start Kindy. He was 4 yrs and 11 months. Since I have kept my kids in the grade they would be if in B&M school, he is the age he is for 9th grade. 

[SKL]

Sounds normal to me.  Does he look young or something?

[Caroline]

My April birthday child was 14 years 4 months when he started high school. He was 18 years 1 month when he graduated.

[Sisyphus]

I was advised to wait a year before enrolling Ds (July birthday) in public school for some classes for dual enrollment, because he would be the youngest student. He makes the states posted September 1 cutoff by many weeks, but apparently no one follows that anymore. It's actually caused some issues- he couldn't apply for some programs for 9-12 graders, because they all stated you must be 15 by a certain date, and he wasn't. So he lost a year trying to do some extracurricular things. He's been fine otherwise, but may take a gap year anyway if we move overseas his senior year.

 

I plan to delay youngest (June birthday) a year by doing 8th grade twice. It just isn't worth it if everyone is red shirted.

[Cinder]

So, he is now 15 years 9 months (give or take) and in 10th grade.  Most of his peers are 6-12 months OLDER than he is.

 

 

That is very close to ds2's age and he is also in 10th. Both ds's started 9th at 14yo.

[Matryoshka]

Cutoff here is 14 by Sept 1st.  My older dds have June birthdays, so they were on the young side, but definitely made the cutoff, and are now 15yo sophomores.

 

There are a lot of older kids, but I think that is mostly due to the "Pre-1st" program here in town - rather than holding back K students not deemed ready, they have a "Pre-1st grade" class (or 2 or 3?) that some kids go to.  So anyone in that program is a year older even if they started K at 5 like normal.

[SKL]

In my kids' class, excluding my daughters, the youngest kid has a May birthday, even though the cutoff was Oct 1 when my kids entered KG.  And I believe there's one or two kids with Spring birthdays who were redshirted or repeated.  So I guess an April birthday could be on the young side if that is going on.

[DragonFaerie]

I have always thought that kids start 1st grade at 6, 2nd grade at 7, 3rd grade at 8, etc.  Following that, 13 in 8th, 14 in 9th and 17 in 12th and turning 18 during the year or shortly thereafter.  DS has a February birthday.  He started 5th grade at 10 but will turn 11 next month (during the school year).  I would think that your DS would start 9th grade at age 14 and would then turn 15 during the school year.  My DD is different because she has an October birthday but she also skipped a grade when she went back to ps.  So she started 7th grade at 11 years old but turned 12 shortly into the year.  The downside of that for her is that she will actually start college at 17 and won't turn 18 until a couple of months in.

[Tammi K]

My 10th grader just turned 16 last week which means she was 14 when she started 9th grade.

 

I graduated when I was 17 so I was 13 when I started 9th grade. 

 

It all depends on when your birthday is and what the cut-off date is for your area. When I was a youngin' (a half century ago), the cut-off was December 31. I'm a Christmas eve baby, so I made the cut-off and started at 4 years and 8 months but I was always the youngest kid in my class.  (( I was the only kid on a COLLEGE sponsored ski trip who had to have a permission slip signed by her parent because I was a college freshman but only 17. Embarrassing.))

 

The same district I attended now has a cut-off date of August 31. So with little exception, kids are already 5 before they start kindergarten.

 

 

[mom2scouts]

In my area your child would be a freshman at age 14 years 4 months and there might be some kids who had turned 15 the month before.  One of mine was a freshman right after his 13th birthday, but he was an unusual case and graduated at 16.

 

[Ellie]

::delurking::

 

Okay, I am no longer homeschooling (due to divorce), but I always come back here to check things…is like my brain.

 

What age is your high school freshman?  What age do most in YOUR area start 9th grade?

 

Another question:  

 

My son has a late April birthday.  What age should he be on Sept 1 to start 9th grade?  Should he be 14 years 4 months or 15 years 4 months??

 

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

I ask because I am *regularly* getting odd looks and lack from educators here.  The school he is in (online) argued with me for 2 weeks until they tested him….. then, they changed their tune.  So, he is now 15 years 9 months (give or take) and in 10th grade.  Most of his peers are 6-12 months OLDER than he is.

 

Do kids not graduate at 18 anymore??

Thanks,

Kris

 

I would expect someone whose birthday is in April to be 14yo when he enters ninth grade (do I have to count months??). He would be 15 when he entered 10th, 16 when he entered 11th, 17 when he entered 12th. He would have his 18th bday in April and graduate in June.

[regentrude]

My current 9th grader was 14 at the beginning of the school year and will be turning 15 in the spring of freshman year.

He will be turning 18 a few weeks before graduating.

 

My previous 9th grader had skipped 8th grade, was 13 at the beginning of the school year and turned 14 in the spring of her freshman year. She will be turning 17 a few weeks before graduating.

[PuddleJumper1]

Dd was 14 at the start of 9th grade and will turn 15 at about the half-way point. She's a late winter/early spring baby. Her age is pretty typical of the students at our ps high school.

 

She will be just a couple of months younger than your son at the start of 10th so I'd say you're right on track. Dd did a year at ps for 6th and was the same age bracket as her peers.

[Carrie12345]

Ds has a summer birthday. He started 9th grade at 14, but will graduate at 17.

(14y and a couple of weeks, and 17y10m, to be specific.)

[catz]

It depends where you are quite a bit. Our district has had mandatory all day K for going on 10 years, and so the classes are leaning older as time goes on. If your son is doing well in 10th, I wouldn't think anything of it.

[Mrs Mungo]

My son's birthday is in April. He is in 7th grade and is 12. So, he will be 14 and 5 months in September of his 8th grade year.

 

I hope you guys are adjusting okay.

[LLMom]

My 9th grader is 14; won't be 15 until June.  I think it is more common now to hold kids back especially if they have a late summer birthday.

[mamakelly]

My 9th grader is 14 and will be 15 in June. I have friends whose kids are 16 and Sophomores though. They started their kids at a private school that required the kids to be 5 by Aug 1st. Most of the summer birthday kids were encouraged to wait another year due to the rigorous nature of the program. So they have 15 year old freshmen and so on...

[Cera]

Both of my girls will be 13 years, 10 months when they start 9th grade. They will graduate high school at 17 if they go for 4 years

[EKS]

In WA a kid must be 14yo on September 1 to start 9th grade.  Lots of kids with summer birthdays, especially boys, are held back.  When my son went to a small private school he was 9 months younger than the next youngest kid and he has a June birthday.

[Ellie]

Ds has a summer birthday. He started 9th grade at 14, but will graduate at 17.

(14y and a couple of weeks, and 17y10m, to be specific.)

 

Yup, that's how it is with us summer-birthday folks: we're 17 when we graduate and have our 18th birthdays afterwards. :-)

 

Think of poor Mr. Ellie, who has a September birthday and grew up in California, where the cut-off date was December 2. He was 5 when he started first grade, having his sixth birthday three months into the school year, then graduated at 17 and didn't turn 18 until three months later. :-)

[Pamela H in Texas]

On Sept 1st (though could be a different cut-off), Age minus 5 equals grade level.  So a 14yo on the cut-off would be in 9th.

 

 

[swellmomma]

I have 2 9th graders this year, one is 14 the other 15, though both are mostly doing 10th grade courses.  dd turned 14 1 month before school started this year, ds15 turned 15 on the first day of school.  dd will graduate at 17y11m, ds will be 18y10m if they take right through 12th to finish up.  Based on their current pace they could very well be 16y11m and 17y10m instead.

 

ETA: I was 17 at my graduation, I turned 18 a few weeks later.  My brother with a sept 2nd b-day graduated at 17y10m

[MooCow]

Yup, that's how it is with us summer-birthday folks: we're 17 when we graduate and have our 18th birthdays afterwards. :-)

 

Think of poor Mr. Ellie, who has a September birthday and grew up in California, where the cut-off date was December 2. He was 5 when he started first grade, having his sixth birthday three months into the school year, then graduated at 17 and didn't turn 18 until three months later. :-)

Me too!

[Jilly]

My twins are 14 in 9th grade. They have a summer birthday and will graduate when they are 17 and then turn 18 shortly thereafter. 

 

Cut off dates do vary by where you live, but I can't imagine anyone with an April birthday starting at 15 unless they were red-shirted. 

[Only me]

My son has a march 31 birthday and started public high school when he was 14. At the private high school my oldest daughter went to she was the youngest in her class with a July 21 birthday. She was still 17 when graduated. Many of her friends were turning 19 soon after graduation. I still think 14 is the norm for a freshman.

[Jenny in Florida]

My son was a year young when we started him in what we called "9th grade." His friends, though, who were the typical age for local schools, were all 14 at the beginning of their freshman year and will graduate at 18.

[mommytobees]

My son's birthday is in April. He is in 7th grade and is 12. So, he will be 14 and 5 months in September of his 8th grade year.

 

I hope you guys are adjusting okay.

 

We're doing okay.  Both kids are doing well in school.  They are adjusted so-so to their dad being absent.

 

I started school myself last year.  Other than pre-calc, I have all A's.  I've applied to a Speech & Hearing Sciences degree program.  

 

Thanks,

Kris

[Word Nerd]

Most high school freshmen here are 14 and turn 15. (The age cut-off for K is August 31, so it's possible for the youngest in the class not to turn 14 until a couple of weeks after school starts.) Both of my DDs have summer birthdays and won't be 18 yet when they graduate.

[Tap]

Ds was barely 14 (late summer b-day) and dd was almost 15 (fall bday) when they started 9th grade.

[MicheleinMN]

In some places, the student must be age 5 BY September 1st in order to enter kindergarten.  Four out of 6 of my children were (or will be) 14 at the start of their freshman year, the other two are(or will be) 15 because they started kindergarten at six years old.

 

HTH

[TrixieB]

We're doing okay.  Both kids are doing well in school.  They are adjusted so-so to their dad being absent.

 

I started school myself last year.  Other than pre-calc, I have all A's.  I've applied to a Speech & Hearing Sciences degree program.  

 

Thanks,

Kris

 

Drat that pre-calc! 

[Ivey]

My 9th grader turned 15 a few weeks ago. Our state's cut-off is September 1st, but I have no idea how popular red-shirting is in our area. 

 

Our oldest, who has a November birthday, attended kindergarten and 1st grade while we were living in Canada, where the cut-off was December 31st. He started half-day kindergarten at 4 and college at 17. My sisters and I all graduated high school and started university at 16, so the idea that all my younger boys will be 18 (or older) is a little strange for me. 

[Susan in TN]

I don't know what our school system does, but if my kids have a summer birthday, they are just-turned-15 as freshmen, before that they are generally at least 14.5. We don't have any spring birthdays, though. I'd probably go with 14yr 4mo as a freshman.

[redsquirrel]

my son has a May birthday and was born in '00. This May he will turn 14 and in September he will be a 9th grader. It is the same for all his friends.

 

Our district has a 11/01 cutoff date. So a student could turn 14 around Halloween and still be a 9th grader.

 

I graduated when I was 17, but my birthday is in September. So, I was a month into college before I turned 18.

 

 

[Mrs Mungo]

We're doing okay. Both kids are doing well in school. They are adjusted so-so to their dad being absent.

 

I started school myself last year. Other than pre-calc, I have all A's. I've applied to a Speech & Hearing Sciences degree program.

 

Thanks,

Kris

Glad you're doing well. I know it is a hard adjustment back to civilian style life for lots of women. I have a good friend who is a speech pathologist, but I know the licensing stuff is different in every state. If you ever need a friendly ear, let me know. ((HUGS))

[QueenCat]

Cutoff is Sept. 1, so unless their parents intentionally held them back (which happens often with boys with summer birthdays), most will be 14 when they start 9th grade.

[J-rap]

In our area, most 9th graders begin the year at 14 but at some point turn 15.  However,  due to the summer birthday dilemma here, there are always a handful of kids who start 9th grade as a young 15 year-old.

[MinivanMom]

The cut-off here is Oct.15, so most kids would be 14 starting 9th grade, but there are always a handful who are 13 and then turn 14 during those first 6 weeks of school. Our state also has early entry to kindergarten and our district allows grade-skipping so that increases the number of 13-yr-olds, especially on the honors/AP track. When they list the area valedictorians in the paper each year only half of them are 18; the other half are 16 or 17. I don't think I've ever known of a 19-yr-old graduate in real life, so I think it's a little extreme that anyone would expect your son to be 15 yr 4 mo to start 9th grade.  

 

It's a very regional issue, though. I've learned from these boards that red-shirting is rampant in some parts of the country. I would assume that your on-line school is in an area like this.

[Ellie]

In our area, most 9th graders begin the year at 14 but at some point turn 15.  However,  due to the summer birthday dilemma here, there are always a handful of kids who start 9th grade as a young 15 year-old.

 

Not sure what the "summer birthday dilemma" is or why that would cause anyone to enter 9th grade as a "young 15 year-old." :confused1:

 

If for some reason my parents or the school had decided that I was too young with a July birthday to enter first grade the September after I turned 6, that would have made me 7 entering first grade instead of 6, and therefore at least a year older than most of the other children in my class, and certainly not a "young 15" when I entered ninth grade. :confused1:

[Library Momma]

Here the cutoff is Jan 1st so kids can be 4 or 5 when they start K.  Kids going into 9th grade are 14 and those with Sept-Dec birthdays are 13.  My son has a Sept b-day so he will be 13 and back in the Dark Ages when I started High School I was 13 going into 9th with my November Birthday.

 

There are a few older kids that were either Redshirted or repeated a grade.

[Mom in High Heels]

Interesting.  Indy will turn 14 just before starting 9th grade, and will not turn 17 until 2 months after he graduates.  

[Wheres Toto]

My oldest has a late April birthday as well.  She was 14 at the start of her freshman year and turned 15 during the year.  Because red-shirting is VERY common around here, she was actually one of the youngest kids in her grade through most of her schooling.   The kids with birthdays in June/July/August and onward almost always wait a year.

 

[LMA]

My son just turned 15 in Nov. and is now a freshman. I would follow the Sept. 1 cutoff for birthdays. 

 

However, it is more and more common to consider summer birthdays to be "young". I guess they are backtracking to April. 

 

If this is the case, why don't they just change the age to 7 for compulsory education and graduate at 19?

[happypamama]

My older two children, who have Feb. and March birthdays, will start ninth grade at 14 and a few months, same as DH and I did; they will graduate shortly after they turn 18.

 

My third child has an October birthday; if I were sending him to school, I'd have sent him this year, at not quite 5, although he technically would have missed the cut-off, since he is academically and emotionally ready and would have done fine in a classroom.  However, when asked, he said he wanted to be called a preschooler this year, so he will officially be a Kindergartener next year at 5, almost 6.  When I am officially required to register him (8 in our state), he will be 8, almost 9, and he will be in third grade that year.  Going by that, he will start ninth grade at 14, very close to 15, and will graduate at 18, a few months before turning 19.

 

My fourth and fifth children are summer birthdays.  The July one will start ninth grade at 14 and will graduate right before his 18th birthday.  The August one will probably be a Kindergartener at just barely 5, and I will probably have to register him the year he is just barely 8, so he'll be a young third grader, and if necessary, I will call him a second grader that year so that we don't have to worry about standardized testing that year.