Students read during their class at a school in Bangkok October 30, 2014.
IN PHOTO: Students read during their class at a school in Bangkok October 30, 2014. The generals who led a coup in May have prioritised school reforms to inculcate a strong sense of national identity - or Thai-ness - in a country whose traditional values hinge on unquestioning respect for the monarchy, religion and elders. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

A study conducted by Duke University found that children who join kindergarten at an older age perform well initially but their grades begin to fall as they grow older. Researchers state in the press release that these students drop out and commit crimes by the time they reach their teenage years.

The research is the first to look at and produce evidence that link dropout rates and crimes. Since prisons report a high number of dropouts, Philip J. Cook, the stuy's lead author and professor in Duke's Sanford School of Public Policy, states that there is a definite link between the two. He also noted that children from disadvantaged backgrounds are more vulnerable.

Previous studies found that most parents enroll their children late for kindergarten to benefit academically and socially. Children born just before the cutoff date are enrolled in kindergarten late which makes them older than the other students. This trend is most common among whites than African Americans as well as among parents enrolling boys than those enrolling girls, the release specifies.

The study by Cook found that previous studies were right and that most “old-for-grade students” performed well academically. They were also found to be one-third less likely to resort to antisocial behaviour when in school. This observation holds true unti the children turn 16. After this age, the said children are most likely to drop out and indulge in criminal activity and get imprisoned by the age of 20, Cook stated.

The study by Cook looked into the North Carolina public school students. Since the legal age to withdraw from school in North Carolina is 16, the students’ dropout at this age. "If they were born before the cutoff date, they have just 19 months between their 16th birthday and graduation to be tempted to drop out," Cook said. "If they were born just after and enter school later, they have 31 months, and for some of them, it is an irresistible temptation." He also explains that this is human nature since most high school students dread school.

The press release states that the probability of an old-for-grade student to drop out and commit a crime is 3.4 times greater for those born to an unwed mother and is 2.7 times greater for those born to mothers who were dropouts themselves.

Cook suggests that instead of a legal withdrawal age, policy makers could solve that problem by making it mandatory for students to attend a certain number of years in school. Schooling helps and can protect the students from committing crimes, he states.

The study will be published in the American Economic Journal-Applied Economics.

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