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Enchanted December PISA Achievements and
Retention of Children in Kindergarten in Israel
Joel Rapp, PhD
Accession Seminar for Israel OECD/Ministry of
Education 22-23 November 2011 Caesarea, Israel
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PISA in Israel

• Israel has participated in PISA since 2002
  (PISA), including in 2006 and in 2009, and it
  will also participate in 2012.
• 5761 students participated in the 2009 study.
• These students constituted a representative
  sample of 15-year-old students in Israel (with
  the exception of ultra-orthodox boys).

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Characteristics of PISA Target Population

• The PISA study focuses on the evaluation of
  15-year-old students regardless of the study
  program they follow, or the structure and stages
  of the country's education system, or the current
  school grade in which they study.
• In most participating countries, most of the PISA
  students are in the 10th grade at the time PISA
  is carried out. Among the rest, the majority are
  9th grade students, mainly due to grade
  repetition.
• This design allows the study of the effect of an
  extra year of schooling on PISA achievements.

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PISA 9th and 10th Graders in Israel

• As a rule, a class repetition mechanism does not
  exist in Israel.
• However, about 17 of Israeli 15-year-olds are in
  the 9th grade, instead of the 10th, where they
  ought to be.
• Since these students did not repeat a class, this
  relatively large proportion of 9th graders
  requires an explanation.

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Kindergarten Retention in Israel (1)

• Analysis of the Israeli PISA 2009 data suggests
  that most of the PISA 9th graders were retained
  another year at the compulsory kindergarten/pre-el
  ementary school stage, thus starting school at
  the age of seven instead of six.
• This mechanism differs from grade repetition in
  that it represents an attempt to predict
  performance rather than being a decision-making
  process based on actual performance.

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Kindergarten Retention in Israel (2)

• The official reason for kindergarten retention is
  lack of school readiness (cognitively,
  emotionally, socially, or physically), and the
  belief that sending children who are not ready
  to school at the age of six might put their
  chances of success in school at risk.
• In Israel, this decision is made by the childs
  parents, together with the kindergarten teacher,
  and is supported by an educational psychologist.
  It is later approved by the authorities.

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The School Readiness Concept

• School readiness is an important concept among
  educational psychologists, mainly in the context
  of decision making for school entry.
• A great deal of debate has been waged over the
  theoretical basis of school readiness and
  consequent methods of measurement.
• The large proportion of kindergarten delayed
  students in Israel suggests that kindergarten
  retention is in fashion and has become popular
  during the past two to three decades.

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Aim of the Current Work

• The current work deals with kindergarten-delayed
  students in the Israeli education system. That
  is, 15-year-old students who, at the time of PISA
  2009, were studying in the 9th grade.
• It focuses on the following issues
• Who are these students and what are their
  characteristics?
• How well did they achieve in PISA, compared to
  their counterparts in the 10th grade?
• How are these achievements related to the age of
  the student?

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Characteristics of Kindergarten-delayed Students
in Israel

• Kindergarten retention is more common among
  native Hebrew-speaking students, compared to
  Arabic-speaking students 17 compared to 7.
• Therefore, the presented data will concentrate
  mainly on native Hebrew-speaking students.
• In general, it is more prevalent among
• Boys (21, compared to 13 among girls).
• Students with lower ESCS (23, compared to 15 of
  higher ESCS).
• SEN students.
• Younger students.

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Kindergarten Retention and Age of Student
Arabic Speaking
Hebrew Speaking

• In both sectors, the younger the students are,
  the higher the proportion of 9th graders is.
• This proportion is greater in the Hebrew-speaking
  sector indicating that kindergarten retention is
  more common within this sector.

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PISA Achievements as a Function of Age (Birth
Month) and Grade in the Hebrew-Speaking Sector

• Main results
• With regard to 9th graders, the younger the
  students are, the higher the average score is.
• With regard to 10th graders, the scores are
  relatively independent of the birth month.
• Achievements of December-born students are
  higher in both the 9th and 10th grades.

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Summary and Conclusions (1)

• The younger the students, the higher their PISA
  scores (especially in the 9th grade).
• However, in both the 9th and 10th grade,
  December-born students received the highest
  scores among their counterparts who were born in
  the same year.
• Is December an enchanted month? Are
  December-born children more talented?

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Summary and Conclusions (2)

• The enchanted December phenomenon reflects a
  statistical artifact caused by different
  selective processes for younger and older
  students
• Younger students (born Sept.-Dec.) are generally
  delayed due to their young age per se, and this
  is quite a common choice in Israel.
• Older students (born Jan.-Aug.) are rarely
  delayed. However, if they are, this is due to
  reasons that are unrelated to age (and probably
  related to cognitive or/and emotional
  difficulties).

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Summary and Conclusions (3)

• Therefore
• Young students who enter 1st grade at the age of
  six are somewhat exceptional and were probably
  viewed as being cognitively and/or emotionally
  advanced.
• Then again, the older students who enter 1st
  grade at the age of seven are more likely to
  experience learning difficulties or SEN in the
  course of their school studies, and score lower
  in academic achievement later. As a result, their
  younger normative counterparts, who tend to
  have fewer learning difficulties, might score
  higher than them.

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Summary and Conclusions (4)

• The data presented indicate that decisions
  related to kindergarten retention (either to
  delay or not to delay), quite accurately predict
  achievements, learning difficulties or special
  abilities that are manifested ten years later.
• The data collected in PISA have the potential to
  assist policy makers in the consideration, and
  perhaps the redesigning, of their policy
  regarding retention in kindergarten (with the
  possible inclusion of economic considerations).
• If the authorities approve the actual situation
  (despite the economic costs involved), it should
  be adopted in the Arab sector as well.

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The EndThank You!Questions?