Early Math Skills Are Crucial
Many parents spend time and energy reading stories to their preschool child because they know that reading readiness is critical to future learning. And now studies show that early math ability may be an even more crucial building block for success in school and beyond than that of reading readiness. This is why the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics recommends high-quality math instruction for all 3- to 6-year-olds.
“… the strongest predictors of later achievement are school-entry math, reading, and attention skills. A meta-analysis of the results shows that early math skills have the greatest predictive power…”
- Duncan et al., 2007
When children understand early math concepts before they enter kindergarten, research shows that early math skills predict later success throughout their school years.
Unfortunately, there is not enough focus on early math development, and we are seeing the result of that fact with declining math scores on the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as the Nation’s Report Card. Our children are not proficient in math and this problem is getting worse. In 2019, 67% of US eighth graders were not proficient in math, and by 2022, that number grew to 74% according to the 2023 Annie E Casey Kids Count data book.
Early math skills reinforced at home and in school can make all the difference in our children’s ability to thrive later in life.
References:
Duncan, G. J., Dowsett, C. J., Claessens, A., Magnuson, K., Huston, A. C., Klebanov, P., Pagani, L. S., Feinstein, L., Engel, M., Brooks-Gunn, J., Sexton, H., Duckworth, K., & Japel, C. (2007). School readiness and later achievement. Developmental psychology, 43(6), 1428–1446. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.43.6.1428
The Annie E. Casey Foundation. (2023) 2023 Kids Count Data Book. Baltimore, MD: The Annie E. Casey Foundation. https://www.aecf.org/resources/2023-kids-count-data-book
U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), various years, 1990–2022 Mathematics Assessments. https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/highlights/mathematics/2022/
