 FACT: Unless all of the characters were held back a year in school,  their ages do not match their grade. In the first season, Marissa  says she is 16 and her mother says Marissa was born in 1988, even  though she is an incoming Sophomore, and should only be 15. This is  also evident in the fact that Luke, Summer, and Marissa can all  drive cars with no legal drivers.