How old Are Kids In The 8th Grade (Table Included)

ByAgkidzone Staff

Updated: Jun 11, 2024

Advertisement

Quite a number of people want to know, “How old are kids in the 8th grade?” Curious much? Well, this eagerness to know the answer could be due to many reasons such as – wanting to know if their kid is of the right age to be in the 8th grade and so on. Many school-going students also ask this question just out of concern, being afraid of being judged, to gain more knowledge, or for some other reasons. So without further ado, let us know how old are kids in the 8th grade and go over some reasons for the exceptions.

Age Of A Child In 8th Grade

For many reasons, people ask this question: How old are kids in the 8th grade?

Well, when the kids are in 8th grade, their age should be around 13 to 14 years old. In most of the scenarios, the child starts his or her academic year at 13 years of age, and at the end of the year, they turn 14 years old. Generally, this rule is followed in the US education system and this happens under normal circumstances. Do you want to know the easiest way to calculate your child’s age as per their grade? It is really easy! All you have to do is add 5 to 6 years to estimate your kid’s age. For example, 8th grade + 5/6years = 13/14 years old.

Advertisement

Not rocket science, right?

In the United States, adolescents who are in their 13 to 14 years of age are called middle school students. Sometimes, they are also considered junior high school students. In very rare cases, kids in the United States fall back by a year or three on average in their 8th grade. Yes, the year gap is shocking but we have a valid explanation for this. So here is the gist for all of you, not all kids in 8 grades fall in the 13 or 14 years of age category. In normal situations, these kids enter middle school at the age of 13 and leave at 14. But in certain scenarios, they either fail and repeat another year or their academic year gets wasted when they are shifting with their parents.

Though this isn’t a big deal because an age gap between 1 and 2 years is hardly noticeable. This is especially if the child has been with his peer group for a longer period. Thus, the major concern here is not the age gap, but aching all the subjects because 8th grade is the 3rd year of middle school and 2nd year of junior high school.

Table remaining

We are sure that this table must have helped you to understand the age order of the grade levels from Kindergarten to 8th grade and from school freshman year to high school year in the United States.

In the United States, junior high schools and middle schools are normally 6th, 7th, and 8th grades or only 7th and 8th grades. However, some schools follow different rules as per the school district and state. Besides, studies who complete their 8th grade move to high school freshman year. 9th, 10th, 11, as well as 12th fall in the high school year category.

Now, you must have seen some 8th graders who are quite younger or older than their age and wonder about their story. So in the next section, let’s discuss more about it.

Advertisement

Common Reasons Why Some 8th Graders May Be Of Lower Or Higher Age

Reason 1: Cut-off Date In A State In The United States

Many kids attend public schools. So suppose you are born in December and your current age is 12 years old. The cut-off date begins for the schools in your state in between October to November. So this means that you will be 12 years old in the 8th grade and by the end of your academic year, you will be 13.

In most US states, the schools resume after September. But in other states, the school resumption dates in September are not mandatory. So there will be only a few 12 years old kids as students in their 8th grades. Thus, as long as the child is born after September 1, they will be celebrating their 13th birthday during the academic year in school and turn 14 during the summer break or before the school year ends.

But what if your birthday is before September?

If this is so, then you will enter 8th grade when you are 12 years old and not turn 13 until the next school year begins. And an adolescent child who falls behind his academic year or repeats the same grade due to some other reasons might be 14 years old in the 8th grade.

Reason 2: Child’s Brain Capabilities

You might have seen some 8 graders are younger and some are older. Many parents decide to send their kids early or late as per the child’s capabilities. Sometimes, their kids are slow learners and need time, so parents send them to preschool for extra training before enrolling them in school.

Reason 3: Every Country’s Education Systems Are Different

Rules for age groups as per grade are different in various countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, as well as China.

Reason 4: Students Are Moving To A Different State

One of many reasons why the kids are older in their 8th grade is because they are moving to a different country, place, or a state. Due to that, they repeat their school year.

So these were some reasons why some 8th graders are younger or older. But it ain’t a big deal as long as it is not affecting their studies.

Advertisement

You May Also Like