New Education Commission of the States' Kindergarten Database

Selected highlights from the kindergarten database:

Kindergarten entrance age

- In half of the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, students must turn age 5 by the end of September to attend kindergarten.

- Nineteen states requires students to turn age 5 on or before Sept. 1.

Kindergarten attendance requirement

- Fifteen states plus D.C. require children to attend kindergarten at age five or require kindergarten attendance prior to enrolling in first grade.

- Thirty-five states do not require kindergarten attendance

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Compulsory school age

- Most states require children to attend school by age 6 (26 states) or age 7 (14 states).

- In eight states – Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Virginia – plus D.C., the compulsory school age is 5.

      - Pennsylvania and Washington require children to attend school at age 8.

      Kindergarten Entrance Exams
      - More than half of the states and the District of Columbia now require children to take kindergarten entrance assessments.