Is a just turned 9 yr old usually in 4th grade?

[HappyGrace]

Dd has a late (Dec) bday and I report her as 3rd grade to the district, but I keep forgetting if she'd technically be 3rd or 4th or even 5th grade! I'm pretty sure it's 4th, but on the MEP math website (which is British math) it has a U.S./British equivalent chart and it says 9-10 yrs old in the U.S. is 5th grade?

(Note: We're in the U.S.-it's this chart that the British math site had that has me confused.)

[JudoMom]

My guy has a late July birthday and is in 4th grade.

[Melissa B]

It depends on the state - my dd just turned 9 in January and she is considered 3rd grade (in Florida.)

[Niffercoo]

That child would be in 3rd grade in Georgia. Our cutoff is September 1st. My daughter turns 10 next month and is a 4th grader.

[JaniceO]

9 year olds with your daughter's birthday are usually in 3rd grade. I have a 9 year old (October birthday) and he is in 3rd grade. Typically, school districts have a cutoff date of September 1 (HOWEVER there are many exceptions to this). September 1 is just the most common. Which would mean:

K=5/6
1=6/7
2=7/8
3=8/9
4=9/10
5=10/11

9 is definitely not typical 5th grade age. My just turned 11 year old is in 5th grade and the majority of his previous classmates are 10 or 11.

[MeanestMomInMidwest]

My ds just turned 9 in Feb and would be in 3rd grade for brick & mortar schools. Just yesterday we discussed that in homeschool, we're not really going to go by the grade number, we're just going to do the work that needs to be done for each child.

[Moni]

age minus five equals grade.

:seeya:

[Kate in Arabia]

My oldest is also a December baby, 11 yrs, and he's "officially" in 5th grade. When he turned 9 he was in 3rd.

[moki4]

Our Ds also has a late July B-day, and is in 4th. If he was in PS, he would be one of the "young ones":)

[abbeyej]

It would be 3rd in nearly every state. Only a few have cut-offs as late as December, and "holding back" for kids with birthdays within 3 months before the cut-off is very, very common now. Most states have cut-offs between August and October (though some as early as June and some as late as December).

Most kids enter 1st at 6 and finish at 7,
enter 2nd at 7 and finish at 8
enter 3rd at 8 and finish at 9, etc...
Summer birthdays can throw that off, but a December birthday turning nine would be pretty solidly 3rd grade anywhere in the US.

[Trivium Academy]

Dd is 8, with a July bday and is in 3rd grade now. Next school year, 2009-2010 she will be considered 4th grade. BUT I would place a child in the grade that is most suited for them, a hsling friend placed an older child in 4th b/c she knew he needed more math skills although he was technically 6th but she was concerned more about him and his skill set than what grade the district thought the child was in. You can always skip a grade!

[Tree House Academy]

In the area of TN where I live, your child would be in 3rd grade. The cutoff is in September, so my guy who turned 9 in August is in 4th grade. If he had been born in October of the same year, he would be in 3rd grade.

[MamaT]

My daughter turned 9 on July 30 and she is in third grade. She and her brother are only 9 months apart (she is adopted, he is not), so it was a hard decision whether to keep them together or not.

It has worked out very well to have her in a grade behind him (less competition), and I am very glad I did it this way.

[Elohcin]

My Nov birthday 9yo is in Third. I report her in Third no matter what level she is at (ahead or behind) because our state has testing.

[mamaof2andtwins]

In NY, our cut off date is late. It is December 1st. So, if your daughter has a birthday after December 1st she would be considered 3rd grade here.

My dds have an October birthday and I consider them 4th grade because they fall before the cut off date in our state. For the most part one of them is doing 4th grade work and did well on her testing last year. Her sister is between 3rd and 4th, but because they are twins I call them the same grade.

Jennie

[LoveBaby]

It depends on the state - my dd just turned 9 in January and she is considered 3rd grade (in Florida.)


It's the same for us in Missouri.

[EKS]

In WA she would be in 3rd grade. I actually think that this would be the case for most states.

[clane]

Newly 9 this time of year would be 3rd grade here. FL has a Sept 1 cut-off.

[Ellie]

It depends on the cut-off date in your state.

In California, the cut-off date is December 2. I believe Maryland's is December 30. In Texas, it is September 1. If her birthday is after September 1, in Texas she'd be 3rd grade. If it is December 1, in California she'd be 4th. In Maryland, if it's in December but before December 30, she'd be 4th.

I think you're safe with 3rd.

FTR, I have a July birthday, and I'm happy that my grandparents did *not* hold me back, thinking that I had a "late" birthday. I graduated in June and turned 18 in July.

[Mom2GirlsTX]

My daughter has a Dec birthday and is also 9. She is considered 3rd grade in Texas.

[Lori D.]

Agreeing with Jessica -- and it's easier to skip a grade later on, than to have to repeat a grade later on!! BTW, we favored holding our boys back and have never regretted it; both were in 3rd grade when 9yo:
- older son = late April b-day = turned 9yo at end of 2nd gr.
- younger son = early Jan. b-day = turned 9yo in middle of 3rd gr.

[sweetTN]

My dd's birthday is one day before the cut off, so at 9 she is 4th grade. Had she been born a day later she would be in 3rd grade.

[Charlotte]

Here in Missouri our cut-off date is August 1. My son's b-day is August 29 so he is a 9yr old 3rd grader:-)

[momof165]

I have a 9 year old ds (his b-day is in Oct.) and he is in 3rd Grade.

Sonja
___________________________________
Homeschooling JUST ONE - ds 9

[BlueMorpho]

MEP is a British program, and in Britain kindergarten starts at 4, first year at 5.

BlueMorpho

[HappyGrace]

the majority says 3rd grade, and momof2andtwins is in NY like I am, with the Dec 1 cutoff, and that would apparently be 3rd.

BlueMorpho had the answer to the British problem-looks like they start a year earlier, which is what was confusing me!

[NayfiesMama]

I would say 3rd for you child, although I think in Michigan the cut off may be after Dec 1. (Oops, just looked it up and Michigan has the cut off as Dec. 1st)

So, if you held him back a year, it'd even be 2nd:-)

Carrie:-)

[Carrie1234]

Yes, a December b-day would be 3rd grade in most states. I still don't think it matters all that much for homeschoolers.

My ds has an August b-day and was 9 for all of 4th grade in public school. He was always one of the youngest (though there was a big clump of kids born in August in his NJ school) and that worked out fine for him. I'm not sure how well it would have gone if he had been a third of a year younger than *that.
At home, I don't worry about it. He's 10 and in 5th now, but does a lot of "6th grade work". I still can't imagine him being comfortable in the local middle school (6th-8th grades). If I thought he might go back to regular ps one day, I would have to spend some serious time deciding where to place him.

[Shari]

My son has a Sept. 1 birthday, the cut-off day for the district. He will be in 4th grade.

[LisaTheresa]

My son has a birthday on September 13th and the cut off here in Virginia is September 30th. So, for him, he should be in 4th grade at 9. He's not because I decided 3rd grade would be best for him, but technically he should be one of the youngest 4th graders.

Lisa

[Pamela H in Texas]

Kids usually turn 10 in 4th grade.

[Ellie]

Kids usually turn 10 in 4th grade.
Unless they have summer birthdays. Then they turn 10 after the end of 4th grade, before the start 5th.

[AngieW in Texas]

In Texas, the cutoff date is September 1st. You must be 5yo on September 1st of the schoolyear you start K. Your dd would be a 3rd grader here according to the ps.

[akmommy]

My DS just turned 9 in Jan. and is in third. My 5th grade DD turned 11 in Dec. This is typical for our area, the district has an Aug. 15th (must be 5 before) cut off date for starting K.