How old are you in third grade?

Answer 1

This can be a little tricky, and it varies depending on the child's birthday, the cutoff date for beginning school in whatever state they live in, when the school year starts, and whether or not the child was ever held back.

Generally, children start kindergarten at 5, so they should be 8 years old when they begin 3rd grade. In most states, they require kids to be 5 by September 1st to start kindergarten (meaning that in 3rd grade, a child would have to be 8 by then). School usually starts in late August, in which case the very youngest children won't quite be 8 yet, but again, they would be by Sept. 1st. In some places school doesn't start until early September, so in that case, the youngest will have just turned 8 and the oldest will already be turning 9 right as school begins.

But, the cutoff dates can vary a bit. Even though it's Sept. 1st in most states, it can be as early as August and as late as December. If the cutoff is in August, this ensures that NO 4 year olds can enter kindergarten and that also means no 7 year olds in 3rd grade. So all children will be at least 8 and the oldest will have already been 9 for a couple weeks or even a month when school starts. If the cutoff is not until December, then children can potentially be 7 for nearly half of their 3rd grade year.

But, all children whose birthdays fall after the cutoff date but before the end of the school year (usually late May or early June) will turn 9 sometime during their 3rd grade year. And if they have a birthday in the summer after school has ended, then they will just be 8 for all of 3rd grade and then turn 9 the following summer.

Finally, a child could be as old as 10 in 3rd grade. This could happen if they ever had to be retained and had to repeat a year in school. They would start the year at 9 and turn 10, rather than starting at 8 and turning 9. Or if their birthday isn't until the summer, then they'll already be 9 when they start 3rd grade but won't actually turn 10 until after they've finished.