{
  "id": "graduation-year",
  "version": "754b54c4660d",
  "status": "published",
  "name": "Graduation Year Calculator",
  "question": "Graduation calculator by birthday",
  "summary": "Finds the high school graduation year (class of) from a birthday and the kindergarten cutoff date, with the kindergarten start year, the college graduation year and the grade on a given date.",
  "category": "education",
  "url": "https://www.acalculator.org/education/graduation-year-calculator",
  "markdown": "https://www.acalculator.org/education/graduation-year-calculator.md",
  "kind": "function",
  "method": "Kindergarten starts in the fall of the first school year in which the child is 5 on or before the cutoff date, plus any years held back or skipped; high school class of = that year + 13; college = + 4.",
  "assumptions": [
    "US schools: kindergarten, then grades 1 to 12, one grade a year, graduating in the spring (taken as June 1).",
    "A cutoff from July to December falls in the fall the school year starts; January to June, in the following calendar year.",
    "A school year runs from July 1 to June 30. States and districts set their own cutoffs and exceptions.",
    "Birthdays and cutoffs compare by month and day: February 29 comes after February 28 in every year."
  ],
  "inputs": {
    "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
    "type": "object",
    "properties": {
      "b": {
        "title": "Birthday",
        "description": "The student’s date of birth.",
        "type": "string",
        "format": "date"
      },
      "cm": {
        "title": "Cutoff month",
        "description": "The month of the kindergarten cutoff: a child must be 5 on or before the cutoff date.",
        "type": "string",
        "enum": [
          "1",
          "2",
          "3",
          "4",
          "5",
          "6",
          "7",
          "8",
          "9",
          "10",
          "11",
          "12"
        ]
      },
      "cd": {
        "title": "Cutoff day",
        "description": "The day of the month of the cutoff date; September 1 is the most common.",
        "type": "integer",
        "minimum": 1,
        "maximum": 31
      },
      "a": {
        "title": "Years held back or skipped",
        "description": "Years started late or repeated (+1, +2) or grades skipped (−1, −2); 0 if none.",
        "type": "integer",
        "minimum": -3,
        "maximum": 3
      },
      "on": {
        "title": "Grade on this date",
        "description": "Optional: the date for which to show the grade, such as today.",
        "type": "string",
        "format": "date"
      }
    }
  },
  "outputs": {
    "classOf": {
      "label": "High school class of",
      "description": "The spring of the 13th school year after kindergarten starts: kindergarten year + 13.",
      "format": "text"
    },
    "kindergarten": {
      "label": "Starts kindergarten",
      "description": "The fall of the first school year in which the child is 5 on or before the cutoff, plus any adjustment.",
      "format": "text"
    },
    "age": {
      "label": "Age at graduation (June 1)",
      "description": "Age in whole years on June 1 of the graduation year.",
      "format": "integer"
    },
    "college": {
      "label": "College class of",
      "description": "A 4-year bachelor’s degree straight after high school: high school year + 4.",
      "format": "text"
    },
    "grade": {
      "label": "Grade on the date",
      "description": "The grade in the school year (July 1 to June 30) that holds the date you chose.",
      "format": "text"
    }
  },
  "defaultAnswer": {
    "inputs": {
      "b": "2015-06-15",
      "cm": "9",
      "cd": 1,
      "a": 0,
      "on": "2026-10-02"
    },
    "outputs": {
      "classOf": "2033",
      "kindergarten": "fall 2020",
      "age": 17,
      "college": "2037",
      "grade": "6th grade"
    },
    "text": "Born June 15, 2015, the student graduates high school with the class of 2033."
  },
  "examples": [
    {
      "given": {
        "b": "2010-03-15",
        "cm": "9",
        "cd": 1,
        "a": 0
      },
      "expect": {
        "kindergarten": "fall 2015",
        "classOf": "2028",
        "age": 18,
        "college": "2032"
      },
      "source": "hand calculation in content.mdx: 5 on March 15, 2015, before September 1, 2015; NCES, State Education Reforms, Table 5.3: kindergarten entrance age by state, 2018 (most states: a child enters kindergarten if 5 on or before a cutoff date, often September 1, such as “5 on or before 9/01” in Alabama, Illinois and Texas; Connecticut January 1; Delaware and Hawaii July 31), https://nces.ed.gov/programs/statereform/tab5_3.asp (retrieved 2026-10-02)"
    },
    {
      "given": {
        "b": "2010-10-01",
        "cm": "9",
        "cd": 1,
        "a": 0
      },
      "expect": {
        "kindergarten": "fall 2016",
        "classOf": "2029",
        "age": 18
      },
      "source": "hand calculation in content.mdx: 5 on October 1, 2015, after the cutoff, so fall 2016; NCES, State Education Reforms, Table 5.3: kindergarten entrance age by state, 2018 (most states: a child enters kindergarten if 5 on or before a cutoff date, often September 1, such as “5 on or before 9/01” in Alabama, Illinois and Texas; Connecticut January 1; Delaware and Hawaii July 31), https://nces.ed.gov/programs/statereform/tab5_3.asp (retrieved 2026-10-02)"
    },
    {
      "given": {
        "b": "2010-09-01",
        "cm": "9",
        "cd": 1,
        "a": 0
      },
      "expect": {
        "kindergarten": "fall 2015",
        "classOf": "2028",
        "age": 17
      },
      "source": "hand calculation in content.mdx: 5 on the cutoff day itself counts (“on or before”); NCES, State Education Reforms, Table 5.3: kindergarten entrance age by state, 2018 (most states: a child enters kindergarten if 5 on or before a cutoff date, often September 1, such as “5 on or before 9/01” in Alabama, Illinois and Texas; Connecticut January 1; Delaware and Hawaii July 31), https://nces.ed.gov/programs/statereform/tab5_3.asp (retrieved 2026-10-02)"
    },
    {
      "given": {
        "b": "2010-12-15",
        "cm": "1",
        "cd": 1,
        "a": 0
      },
      "expect": {
        "kindergarten": "fall 2015",
        "classOf": "2028"
      },
      "source": "hand calculation in content.mdx: 5 on December 15, 2015, before January 1, 2016; NCES, State Education Reforms, Table 5.3: kindergarten entrance age by state, 2018 (most states: a child enters kindergarten if 5 on or before a cutoff date, often September 1, such as “5 on or before 9/01” in Alabama, Illinois and Texas; Connecticut January 1; Delaware and Hawaii July 31), https://nces.ed.gov/programs/statereform/tab5_3.asp (retrieved 2026-10-02)"
    },
    {
      "given": {
        "b": "2015-06-15",
        "cm": "9",
        "cd": 1,
        "a": 0,
        "on": "2026-10-02"
      },
      "expect": {
        "kindergarten": "fall 2020",
        "classOf": "2033",
        "grade": "6th grade"
      },
      "source": "hand calculation in content.mdx: kindergarten in 2020–21, so 2026–27 is grade 6; NCES, State Education Reforms, Table 5.3: kindergarten entrance age by state, 2018 (most states: a child enters kindergarten if 5 on or before a cutoff date, often September 1, such as “5 on or before 9/01” in Alabama, Illinois and Texas; Connecticut January 1; Delaware and Hawaii July 31), https://nces.ed.gov/programs/statereform/tab5_3.asp (retrieved 2026-10-02)"
    },
    {
      "given": {
        "b": "2010-03-15",
        "cm": "9",
        "cd": 1,
        "a": 1
      },
      "expect": {
        "kindergarten": "fall 2016",
        "classOf": "2029",
        "age": 19
      },
      "source": "hand calculation in content.mdx: one year later than the first example; NCES, State Education Reforms, Table 5.3: kindergarten entrance age by state, 2018 (most states: a child enters kindergarten if 5 on or before a cutoff date, often September 1, such as “5 on or before 9/01” in Alabama, Illinois and Texas; Connecticut January 1; Delaware and Hawaii July 31), https://nces.ed.gov/programs/statereform/tab5_3.asp (retrieved 2026-10-02)"
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    "NCES, State Education Reforms, Table 5.3: kindergarten entrance age by state, 2018 (most states: a child enters kindergarten if 5 on or before a cutoff date, often September 1, such as “5 on or before 9/01” in Alabama, Illinois and Texas; Connecticut January 1; Delaware and Hawaii July 31). https://nces.ed.gov/programs/statereform/tab5_3.asp (retrieved 2026-10-02)"
  ],
  "related": [
    "gpa",
    "grade"
  ],
  "changelog": []
}