Social
Relative age for grade is associated with differences in late -life memory: findings from the Health and Retirement Study Life History Mail Survey Chloe Eng* Chloe Eng Anusha M. Vable Whitney Wells Benjamin Domingue David H. Rehkopf
Introduction: Education consistently predicts late-life cognition, but degree attainment is influenced by preceding factors such as school enrollment age and age relative to peers. Birth seasonality impacts when and in what grade one enrolls, and school-year cutoffs create up to a year difference across students entering at the same age; evidence on long-term cognitive effects of school entry is sparse.
Methods: Relative age for grade was characterized as the interaction of enrollment age in calendar years, birth (old: September-December; average: January-April; young: May-August), and entry grade (Kindergarten; 1st) for Health and Retirement Study participants over age 50 entering school between 4 and 7 years of age (Life History subsample n=6,915). Linear mixed models examined associations between relative age for grade and late-life episodic memory for all available biennial visits from 1998-2020, adjusted for linear/quadratic age, gender, race/ethnicity, birthplace region, parental education, memory practice effect, and preschool attendance.
Results: Late-life memory differed across strata of enrollment age, birth trimester, and entry grade (interaction p=0.01). Earlier enrollment age benefitted memory in old-for-grade Kindergarteners compared to those with similar birthdays enrolling at later ages (age 5 vs. age 6 β: 0.05; 95% CI: 0.01, 0.09), but not for average- or young-for-grade kindergarteners. Earlier enrollment age was also beneficial for memory in young-for-grade 1st graders compared to enrollment at later ages (age 5 vs. age 6 β: 0.05; 95% CI: 0.02, 0.08), but not for average- or old-for-grade 1st graders.
Conclusion: Earlier enrollment age was associated with late-life memory for Kindergarteners turning a calendar year older soonest after the start of school year and 1st graders most recently advancing in age by the start of the school year, suggesting benefits for those most susceptible to variability in grade placement decisions.
