# How old were you/did you turn in 3rd grade? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 19, 2005, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-did-you-turn-in-3rd-grade/317711 "2005-08-19T05:31:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-did-you-turn-in-3rd-grade/317711/21 "2005-08-19T12:47:41Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > I had just turned 7 at the start of 3rd class, as we called it here back then, but I had skipped 2nd class[/SIZE] I also skipped the second grade, so I entered 3rd grade at age 7 in September and did not turn 8 until the end of May. I graduated from high school a week after my 17th birthday. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-did-you-turn-in-3rd-grade/317711/22 "2005-08-19T13:19:30Z")
I had the misfurtune of being born in mid November (try and guess when I was conceived,) and so, with the cuttof date in Vermont being as late as January 1st ( :eek: ), I entered Kindergarden at age four, and was age four for two and a half months before turning five. So I was seven when I entered third grade, and elft thrid grade at 8. Most kids I know wehre either 8 when the entered and turned 9 during, and turned eight over the summer. There were a few kids who had birthdays in Sep. or Oct. And yes, I was the youngest in my class, up until HS when a coupel of twins from a year below me skipped ahead a grade. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-did-you-turn-in-3rd-grade/317711/23 "2005-08-19T13:50:49Z")
I started Kindergarten in 1963 at age 4 and turned 5 in October. So I would have started Grade 3 in September 1966 at age 7 and turned 8 in October. ---
**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-did-you-turn-in-3rd-grade/317711/24 "2005-08-19T14:00:55Z")
> [@saramamalana](#): > > But getting back to the point, I know I turned 9, and they’re convinced that 3rd grade is for 7 and 8 year olds. One of them is an elementary school teacher, so I don’t get it. That was my experience. I went in at age 7 and turned 8 in mid-October. In my town, you had to turn 5 by 12/31 of the year you entered kindergarten, so many children started kindergarten at 4. On the other hand, parents didn’t HAVE to start their children in kindergarten at age 4 even if the kid would turn 5 by 12/31; if they chose to, they could wait a whole year before starting kindergarten. Therefore, some kids would enter kindergarten at 5-almost-6. This would make them enter third grade at 8-almost-9. So 3rd grade can be for anyone from 7-9. Some schools require that children be 5 by September 1 of the year they start. Children who turn 5 on September 2 have to until the next year, and end up being “older” than many of their classmates. There is no “one way” in the U.S. It all depends on how the cutoff dates are set up, and when parents are allowed to start or delay enrolling their children in kindergarten. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-did-you-turn-in-3rd-grade/317711/25 "2005-08-19T14:28:47Z")
The city I lived in had an October 1st cut off date for starting K, so very nearly every child in my class was eight and turned nine sometime during the year or that summer. ---
**Author:** ![AmericanMaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@AmericanMaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AmericanMaid)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-did-you-turn-in-3rd-grade/317711/26 "2005-08-19T14:31:39Z")
I started at age 7 and turned 8 during the year but my mom held me back from kindergarten so I was old for my grade. ---
**Author:** ![hendy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3bc359/32.png) [@hendy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hendy)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-did-you-turn-in-3rd-grade/317711/27 "2005-08-19T16:58:24Z")
Sept birthday, started out as 8, turned 9 within the first month of school. ---
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-did-you-turn-in-3rd-grade/317711/28 "2005-08-19T17:06:59Z")
> [@elfbabe](#): > > Started 3rd grade at 7, turned 8 in mid-September. I was, however, one of the youngest people in the class. Most people came in at 8 and turned 9 sometime during the year. Same. ---
**Author:** ![saramamalana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/74df32/32.png) [@saramamalana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saramamalana)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-did-you-turn-in-3rd-grade/317711/29 "2005-08-19T19:13:32Z")
I love you all. 😃 Really, thank you for helping me maintain my sanity. Of the two friends in question, one is an elementary school teacher but didn’t grow up here, and the other did grow up here but teaches high school. Sometimes I just need to be right, but this was more about checking that I wasn’t the only one sure of this. OTOH it’s funny to read people working out the math of how old they were at what time. I’m just one of those people that \*knows \*how old I was in whichever grade. I also have the benefit of being a 1980 baby so the math is a bit easier, heh. ---
**Author:** ![butler1850](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@butler1850](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butler1850)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-did-you-turn-in-3rd-grade/317711/30 "2005-08-19T20:28:17Z")
I either started at 7, and turned 8 VERY shortly after the first day of school, or was 8 when the year started. September 8 is a horrible birthdate, as I most often had my 1st day of school on my birthday which means: a) Summer ended ON my birthday, not the happiest day of the year. or… b) Nobody knew it was my birthday, and I got no acknolwlegement/party, etc, like the rest of the class. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-did-you-turn-in-3rd-grade/317711/31 "2005-08-19T20:48:19Z")
> [@AmericanMaid](#): > > I started at age 7 and turned 8 during the year but my mom held me back from kindergarten so I was old for my grade. You were old for your grade but started first grade at age 5? Did the other first graders start at age four? Where did you go to school? ---
**Author:** ![Carm6773](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/2bfe46/32.png) [@Carm6773](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carm6773)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-did-you-turn-in-3rd-grade/317711/32 "2005-08-20T00:40:41Z")
Cutoff date here (hi, **Shibb**!) is September 1st. I was born 6/7/73, so I was 5 when I started Kindergarten in August of 78, 6 when I entered 1st grade, 7 for 2nd, etc… I was one of the youngest kids in the class, which is why my Mom wouldn’t let me skip a grade in elementary school. The coolest thing was I graduated from high school on my 18th birthday (Class of 91 Rocks!). I have a niece who will turn 5 on 9/15. Her parents (my sister in law and her husband) are sending her to private school. They just couldn’t see keeping her back because of two weeks. I don’t blame them. My husband’s bday is 9/2. He started school up north, so he graduated from HS and entered the Navy in 1983 while still 17. ---
**Author:** ![Burnt\_Sugar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee59a6/32.png) [@Burnt\_Sugar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Burnt_Sugar)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-did-you-turn-in-3rd-grade/317711/33 "2005-08-20T00:48:36Z")
I was 7. But that’s the norm here. We’re smarter (heh) so we start school earlier and finish earlier. Also, our school year is end of Jan to mid December. ---
**Author:** ![AntaresJB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c2a13f/32.png) [@AntaresJB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AntaresJB)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-did-you-turn-in-3rd-grade/317711/34 "2005-08-20T02:02:21Z")
My birthday is in August, and I skipped kindergarten, so I had just turned five when I started first grade, which means I had just turned 7 when I started 3rd. But because of that skipping, I was 1-2 years younger than everyone else in my class. (For the rest of my school career, as well. I was 16 when I graduated from high school and 20 when I graduated from college.) So yeah. Third grade in US schools should be about 8-9 year olds. ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-did-you-turn-in-3rd-grade/317711/35 "2005-08-20T15:34:23Z")
Hmm…lessee, my brother was born ten days after my eighth birthday, and that would have been towards the end of was in second grade (our birthdays are in March), so I started as eight and turned nine in third. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-did-you-turn-in-3rd-grade/317711/36 "2005-08-20T20:14:40Z")
I was 8 when I started, but turned 9 in January of third grade. My sone, an August baby will turn 8 just days before starting third grade next year. ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-did-you-turn-in-3rd-grade/317711/37 "2005-08-20T20:24:49Z")
Entered third grade at eight, turned nine that January. ---
**Author:** ![deevee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@deevee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deevee)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-did-you-turn-in-3rd-grade/317711/38 "2005-08-20T21:51:21Z")
I entered the second grade at 6 and then skipped the third grade so I was 7 in the fourth grade. Everyone just thought I was a small kid but I was too embarassed to tell them my real age. At 15 I could bluff my way into bars with my legal aged friends. ---
**Author:** ![Caprese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9a28c/32.png) [@Caprese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caprese)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2005, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-did-you-turn-in-3rd-grade/317711/39 "2005-08-21T00:00:45Z")
> [@Ms Macphisto](#): > > Where I grew up, the cut-off date is December 31 and my birthday’s mid-October, so I turned 8 roughly 6 weeks into grade 3. It also meant that when I went to university I got to have fun watching people’s reactions at the beginning of first year when I quite honestly said that I was 17. Ditto, except my birthday was the end of the month, October 30. I was in third grade back in 1962. Cut-off dates have changed. And a lot more people hold their kids back now. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2005, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-did-you-turn-in-3rd-grade/317711/40 "2005-08-21T07:33:44Z")
> [@saramamalana](#): > > Tonight I learned that someone I know will be teaching 3rd grade this year. I commented that I couldn’t imagine her being in charge of a group of 9 year olds. Two friends then argued with me that her students would be 7/8. I stated I definitely turned 9 in 3rd grade. They both looked at me like I had two heads, which pissed me off, because I know I turned 9 that year and didn’t appreciate being looked at like I was an idiot. But getting back to the point, I know I turned 9, and they’re convinced that 3rd grade is for 7 and 8 year olds. One of them is an elementary school teacher, so I don’t get it. > > So what’s your experience? Or parents, what is the experience with your children? I’m so confused! 😕 I was 14. It’s a long story. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-did-you-turn-in-3rd-grade/317711.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-you-did-you-turn-in-3rd-grade/317711.md?page=3)