What grade was I in?
Enter your own date of birth in the calculator above to find out what grade you were in during any school year — useful for settling a debate, filling in a memory, or checking your child's future timeline against your own school history.
Select your country and region, then choose the child's date of birth to see their grade and school timeline.
How the reverse grade lookup works
The calculator uses your birth date and the kindergarten cutoff date for your state or country to determine the year you entered kindergarten. It then calculates every school year from that point through Grade 12. If you enter a birth year in the past, the timeline shows historical school years — for example, a person born in 1995 in a September 1 state entered kindergarten in the 2000–2001 school year and graduated in 2013–2014. Select the country and state you attended school in for the most accurate result.
Why the same birth year gives different grade answers
Two people with the same birth year but different birth months may have been in different grades during the same school year. Someone born August 1985 (before the September 1 cutoff) started kindergarten in fall 1990 and graduated in 2002. Someone born October 1985 (after the September 1 cutoff) started kindergarten in fall 1991 and graduated in 2003. Enter your exact birth date — not just birth year — to get the right school-year timeline.
Finding your high school graduation year
The most common reason people look up what grade they were in is to confirm a high school graduation year — for a reunion, a résumé, a background check, or an online form. Your Grade 12 school year is your graduation year: someone who started kindergarten in fall 2000 graduated in spring 2013. Because the cutoff sets the kindergarten start year, two people born in the same calendar year can have graduation years a year apart. Enter your exact birth date and the state where you attended school, and the timeline pinpoints your Grade 12 year along with every grade in between.
Cutoff dates have shifted over the decades
If the result does not match your memory, your state's cutoff date may have changed since you were young. Over the past several decades many US states moved their kindergarten cutoffs earlier — from December 1 or January 1 toward September 1 — to raise the average school-entry age. Someone who started school in the 1980s or 1990s may have been governed by a later cutoff than the one in force today, which can shift the calculated grade by a year. This tool applies a September 1 cutoff by default; if you know your state used a different date back then, enter it in the cutoff override field for an accurate historical timeline.
FAQ
What grade was I in during [year]?
Enter your birth date in the calculator, select the country and state where you went to school, and the timeline shows every school year from kindergarten through Grade 12 — including which school year each calendar year corresponds to.
What grade was I in if I was born in 1990?
A person born January–August 1990 in a September 1 state started kindergarten in 1995–1996 and graduated in 2007–2008. A person born September–December 1990 started kindergarten in 1996–1997 and graduated in 2008–2009. The exact dates depend on the birth month and state cutoff.
Can I use this to find what year I graduated high school?
Yes — the K–12 timeline shows the Grade 12 year, which is your graduation year. It also shows every intermediate grade, so you can verify which year any particular grade occurred.