Methodology · 2026–27

How What Grade Is My Kid works.

The math is unfussy. The hard part is keeping the 50-state cutoff data current and being honest about the six states where the question doesn't have a single answer.

The grade math

step 01

Compute age on cutoff day

For the chosen state's cutoff date and the 2026–27 school year start, we compute how old the child will be on that date.

ageOnCutoff = (yearStart − birthYear) − (birthdayAfterCutoff ? 1 : 0)

step 02

Map age to grade level

Kindergarten begins at age 5 on the cutoff day. Every additional year of age adds one grade level.

level = ageOnCutoff − 5 // 0 = K, 1 = 1st, …

step 03

Handle edge cases honestly

Under 5: "Not in school yet — starts kindergarten in fall <year>." 18+: "Past high school." States with varies-by-district policy: callout, not a confident answer.

step 04

Year-stamp everything

Every page shows the 2026–27 stamp. The school-year-start integer is the single source of truth for the date math — bumping it for the next cycle updates every page at once.

What we don't try to answer

Whether your child should be in that grade — that's a teacher and parent conversation
Private school grade policy (varies widely by school)
Reading or writing level — different question, different tools

Sources

Education Commission of the States — 50-State Comparison: State K-3 Policies.

Per-state Departments of Education and offices of the superintendent.

California Education Code §48000 (TK eligibility).