Early effects of an early start: Evidence from lowering the school starting age in Poland

This paper investigates some early outcomes of the reform to lower the school starting age in Poland. It explores data on the school performance of 6- and 7-year-old pupils, collected in the transitory period of the reform, when parents were welcomed to enroll their 6-year-old children in the first grade on a voluntary basis. The discovery is that older students do perform better at the end of first grade, but the separately measured effect of an early school start also seems to be beneficial. We point out a selection of unobservables as a possible explanation of the results obtained. The study concludes with some recommendations regarding educational policy and the implementation of politically difficult reforms.