How does a child's chronological age correlate with the likelihood of them receiving a reading intervention in elementary school?

Abstract

This study aimed to determine if the youngest students in a grade level are more likely to receive a reading intervention due to low test scores. Due to the current conflicting research on the topic of redshirting and retention, the study examined whether students that were receiving a reading intervention based on scoring at or below the 40th percentile on the STAR Reading Assessment and/or at or below the 25th percentile on the AIMSwebPlus Reading Assessment were the youngest among the grade level or had summer birthdays. Specifically, the study examined the links between Kindergarten through fourth grade girls and boys, the qualification across both of the tests and those scoring in the 10th percentile and below and their corresponding birthdates. The study did not find any significant results leading towards this claim, outside of 44% of the first-grade boys receiving an intervention having summer birthdays. Limitations include small sample size of predominantly white communities, other factors not addressed such as socioeconomic factors, race and disabilities. A push for additional research to determine the main causes for the vast amount of struggling readers in the state of Wisconsin is emphasized.