Is Early Mathematics Important? Investigating Children's Math Performance From Kindergarten Through Grade 8

• In Event: 61.086 - Roundtable Session 21
  In Roundtable Session: 61.086-18 - Measurement and Validity in Assessment of Mathematics

Abstract

This study explored which early math knowledge and skills were most important for later mathematics achievement. The participants of this study consist of 7542 students, who were followed from kindergarten year to eighth grade as participants in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten (ECLS-K) class of 1998/99. We investigated IRT math scores at five points across elementary school and into middle school (e.g., K, 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 8th). Researchers of this study focused on five areas of math contents (e.g., number and shape, relative size, ordinality and sequence, addition and subtraction, and multiplication and division) and found all of the contents have statistically significant predictive powers for children’s mathematics achievement over time.

Authors

• Joohi Lee, The University of Texas - Arlington

• Mohan Dev Pant, The University of Texas - Arlington