Does height influence progression through primary school grades?

Abstract

AIM: To examine the relation between a child's height and grade progression in primary school. METHODS: Height was measured in a representative cross sectional sample of children from 24 primary schools in Victoria in late 1997. Height measurements were transformed to standardised scores using Cole's "LMS" method to allow for comparison across ages and genders. Children within each grade were divided into three equal groups based on age (youngest third, middle third, oldest third), again to allow for cross age comparison. RESULTS: A total of 2848 children aged 5-12 years (51% male) were included, with approximately 400 children in each of the seven grades from preparatory to grade 6. Analysi..