"Barbara" wrote in message
ups.com...
It's just that when people refer to 5 year-olds, I think most people
think kindergarten. But in school districts with later cut-off dates,
that's not the case. NYC still has a 12/31 cut-off, so there's a lot
of 5 year olds in first grade. When I was a kid in Philly, the cut-off
was 1/31, so first grade was 1/2 over before I turned 6. While I don't
advocate a lot of homework for first graders, I don't find it
unreasonable, either.

My children go to school in a small district where the cutoff is 12/2.
There is no homework in kindergarten at all, or in first grade until after
the 1st of the year. And then homework is limited through junior high.
Despite this the district tests extremely well, some say best in the state
of California. So at least you know they aren't starting homework young to
improve their standardized test scores.