millenials wrote:
I was 17 at graduation, birthday October 22. No skipped grades. Are they keeping kids out of school longer now? If so, it doesn't seem to translate into them learning more.
No. You are the exception. You started school earlier than most. Most kids start Kindergarten when they are 5 years old and then turn 6 sometime during the school year. There are of course exceptions where some kids will start earlier than what is normal. I'm sure that the rules vary a little from place to place but I believe that most places require kids to be 5 years old before September 1 in order to start Kindergarten. Which means that kids with September birthdays are normally the oldest in the class and kids with August birthdays are normally the youngest. This also means that kids with Sept-May birthdays are normally 18 when they graduate and those with June-Aug birthdays are normally 17 when they graduate. There are a few kids that will start a year earlier or a year later but the vast majority will fit this rule.