# What grade was I in that school year?

Finds what grade you (or a child) were in, or will be in, during any year from a birthday and the kindergarten cutoff date, with a year-by-year list from kindergarten to 12th grade.

- Page: https://www.acalculator.org/education/grade-by-year-calculator
- JSON spec: https://www.acalculator.org/education/grade-by-year-calculator.json
- Version: de8c62c8fa81

## Default answer

Example with the default inputs (Birthday March 15, 2000, Year 2,010, Cutoff month September, Cutoff day 1, Years held back or skipped 0): In the fall of the year: 5th grade (2010–11); in the spring: 4th grade (2009–10).

## Inputs

| Key | Label | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| b | Birthday | The date of birth. |
| y | Year | The calendar year to look up, such as 2010. |
| cm | Cutoff month | The month of the kindergarten cutoff: a child must be 5 on or before the cutoff date. |
| cd | Cutoff day | The day of the month of the cutoff date; September 1 is the most common. |
| a | Years held back or skipped | Years started late or repeated (+1, +2) or grades skipped (−1, −2); 0 if none. |

## Outputs

| Key | Label | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| fall | Fall of the year | The grade in the school year that starts in the fall of the year. |
| spring | Spring of the year | The grade in the school year that ends in the spring of the year. |
| kindergarten | Kindergarten | The school year of kindergarten. |
| classOf | High school class of | Kindergarten fall year + 13. |
| list | Year by year | Each grade from kindergarten to 12th with its school year. |

## Method

Kindergarten starts in the fall of year K = birth year + 5 (cutoff in July to December) or + 4 (January to June), plus 1 if the birthday falls after the cutoff, plus any years held back. In the fall of year Y the grade is Y − K; in the spring of Y it is Y − 1 − K (0 is kindergarten).

## Assumptions

- US schools: kindergarten, then grades 1 to 12, one grade per school year; a school year starts in late summer or fall and ends in spring.
- The cutoff is the state or district date by which a child must be 5; September 1 is the most common (NCES Table 5.3).

## Worked examples

1. b = 2000-03-15, y = 2,010, cm = 9, cd = 1, a = 0 gives fall = 5th grade (2010–11), spring = 4th grade (2009–10), kindergarten = 2005–06, classOf = 2018. Source: NCES, State Education Reforms, Table 5.3: kindergarten entrance age by state, 2018 (most states: 5 on or before a cutoff date, often September 1, as in California, Florida and Texas), https://nces.ed.gov/programs/statereform/tab5_3.asp (retrieved 2026-10-05).
2. b = 2000-09-02, y = 2,010, cm = 9, cd = 1, a = 0 gives fall = 4th grade (2010–11), kindergarten = 2006–07, classOf = 2019. Source: NCES, State Education Reforms, Table 5.3: kindergarten entrance age by state, 2018 (most states: 5 on or before a cutoff date, often September 1, as in California, Florida and Texas), https://nces.ed.gov/programs/statereform/tab5_3.asp (retrieved 2026-10-05).
3. b = 1995-12-20, y = 2,014, cm = 1, cd = 1, a = 0 gives fall = out of high school (class of 2013) (2014–15), spring = out of high school (class of 2013) (2013–14), kindergarten = 2000–01. Source: NCES, State Education Reforms, Table 5.3: kindergarten entrance age by state, 2018 (most states: 5 on or before a cutoff date, often September 1, as in California, Florida and Texas), https://nces.ed.gov/programs/statereform/tab5_3.asp (retrieved 2026-10-05).
4. b = 2019-06-01, y = 2,022, cm = 9, cd = 1, a = 1 gives fall = not in school yet (kindergarten starts fall 2025) (2022–23), kindergarten = 2025–26. Source: NCES, State Education Reforms, Table 5.3: kindergarten entrance age by state, 2018 (most states: 5 on or before a cutoff date, often September 1, as in California, Florida and Texas), https://nces.ed.gov/programs/statereform/tab5_3.asp (retrieved 2026-10-05).

## FAQ

### What grade was I in, by birth year?

With the common September 1 cutoff, a child born from September 2 of one year to September 1 of the next starts kindergarten the fall they are 5. Born March 15, 2000: kindergarten in 2005–06, so 5th grade in the fall of 2010.

### Why does the page give two grades for one year?

A school year spans two calendar years. In the spring of 2010 a child is finishing one grade (4th, in 2009–10), and in the fall of 2010 starting the next (5th, in 2010–11).

### What is a kindergarten cutoff date?

The date by which a child must turn 5 to start kindergarten that fall. September 1 is the most common in the US; some states use August 1, October 1, or January 1, and some leave it to the district.

### What if my birthday is right after the cutoff?

You start kindergarten a year later. Born September 2, 2000, with a September 1 cutoff, you turned 5 one day late, so kindergarten was in 2006–07 and you were in 4th grade in the fall of 2010.

### What if I repeated or skipped a grade?

Enter the years held back (+1) or skipped (−1). Each year held back moves every later grade one school year later.

### Does this work for future years?

Yes. Type a coming year to see what grade a child will be in, or before kindergarten, when they start.

## Sources

- NCES, State Education Reforms, Table 5.3, Kindergarten entrance age by state, 2018: most states require a child to be 5 on or before a cutoff date, most often September 1 (California, Florida, Texas and others); Connecticut uses January 1; some states leave it to districts. Retrieved 2026-10-05. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/statereform/tab5_3.asp