More advanced math and reading in kindergarten benefits school performance

Date: Mar-20-2014A new study finds that when kindergarten teachers expose young children to

advanced content in math and reading, the kids perform better at elementary school later on,

regardless of their economic background.

In fact, Amy Claessens, assistant professor of public policy at Chicago University's

Harris School of Public Policy Studies and lead author of the study, says if anything, children

tend to stagnate later in elementary school when kindergarten teachers neglect advanced content

and only teach basic content.

Plus, she says the kids do not do as well in math compared with peers who

were more challenged in kindergarten.

She and her co-authors reported their findings in the American Educational Research

Journal.

The researchers defined "basic" content as skills that over 50% of children entering

kindergarten have already acquired. "Advanced" content refers to skills that the majority of kids have

not yet mastered on entering kindergarten.

Prof. Claessens says there have been many studies looking at the effects of smaller class

sizes and longer days on learning attainment in kindergarten, but apart from that, we

do not know much about the effect of teaching content during those early years.

For the study, she and her colleagues used data from the nationally representative sample of

kindergarten children in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study that is examining child development, school

readiness and early school experiences.

Four days per month of challenging math and reading linked to higher test

scores

The team focused specifically on reading and math content covered by kindergarten teachers, and

how this linked to later academic achievement in school.

They found 4 or more days per month of exposure to advanced content in reading or math was

tied to moderately higher test scores in elementary school. They found no such benefit from

exposure to basic content.

And they note this was the case for all children exposed to advanced content, regardless of

whether they had participated in pre-school programs like Head Start, began kindergarten with

more advanced skills, or came from low-income households.

Prof. Claessens says compared with lengthening the school day or reducing class size,

challenging kindergarten children with more advanced content is a relatively easy and affordable

way to improve their academic achievement both in kindergarten and beyond.

"At a time when education programs are facing budget constraints, this is a more viable

option," she adds, noting that:

"Teachers could increase their time on advanced content while reducing time on basic content,

without the need to increase overall instructional time, and do so in a developmentally

appropriate way for young kids."

In May 2103, Medical News Today reported a study that found compulsory physical education resulted in fitter

students. The researchers compared fitness of fifth graders in public school districts in

California that comply with the state's mandatory physical education requirement and those that

do not.

Written by Catharine Paddock PhD




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