Date:         Tue, 21 Dec 2004 10:28:08 -0600
Reply-To:     Kevin Myers <KevinMyers@AUSTIN.RR.COM>
Sender:       "SAS(r) Discussion" <SAS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
From:         Kevin Myers <KevinMyers@AUSTIN.RR.COM>
Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com
Subject:      OT: GPA vs. Birth Month

I was wondering if any of the stat gurus out there might know whether the
following theory has ever been investigated statistically:

My hypothesis is that students born early in the school year
(October-November) tend to have better academic performance (higher GPA)
than students born late in the school year or especially during the summer
months (July-August).  My reasoning behind this hypothesis is that students
born early in the school year have had almost an entire extra year to learn
and grow mentally before starting school.  It would also be interesting to
know whether such an advantage (if it proves to exist) only impacts the
first few years of school, or whether the effect lingers throughout a
student's entire acedemic history, perhaps due to falling behind in early
years and related emotional impact.

I have no idea whether this hypothesis is actually correct.  However I have
seen some annecdotal evidence that seems to suggest this could have at least
some minor degree of impact.

Any of you ever heard of a study on this topic?

s/KAM