Students born at the beginning of the year are more likely to succeed at school than their classmates at the end of the year, according to INSEE

The effects of the month of birth are still felt at the age of 15, according to a study carried out using Pisa test results in around fifteen countries, including France.

When it comes to academic success, is it better to be born in January than in December? “Being older than your peers when you start school significantly increases performance” in certain school subjects, according to a study published by INSEE on Monday, September 2. To reach these conclusions, the public body analyzed, for 15 countries, the results of three waves of Pisa exams, a benchmark survey which compares the academic skills of 15-year-old students, every three years, within the OECD.

“On average, being one year younger when starting school decreases by about 20 points l“Performance at age 15 in mathematics, science and reading”the statistical institute suggests. In France, a difference of one year at the start of CP is responsible, towards the end of middle school, for a gap of 14 points in mathematics, 17 points in science and 18 points in reading, the study reveals. In math, the average Pisa score of French students was 474 in 2022.

Results vary from country to country. “Being one year older than peers at school entry increases math scores by 29 points in Italy, compared to 10 points in Estonia and Finland and 9 points in the Netherlands.”underlines the Insee

In several countries, “Being younger when starting school also increases the risk
to repeat a grade during their schooling and be exposed to harassment”continues the Insee. “Younger people express weaker social and emotional skills and have less confidence in their abilities”to the point of being “fewer likely to consider higher education”the study notes.

In France, where entry into CP occurs in the year the student turns 6, the difference between a student born in January and one of his classmates born in December represents “a 16% age gap”underlines the Insee. The organization suggests various “cumulative effects” which may explain why the gaps are not always resolved. “Younger students may have disappointing results at the start of school and be labelled as struggling, undermining their self-esteem and motivation”he says.

So, “the persistence of the effect on academic success of the age at which school starts calls into question the capacity of the education system to manage the heterogeneity of students”, writes INSEE. However, these variations remain “much smaller than performance inequalities linked to social origin”notes the institute. “On average across the OECD, the quarter of students with the most social disadvantages (…) scored 92 points lower in mathematics than the quarter with the most social disadvantages”he recalls.