Canada. Academic Achievement Strongly Linked to the Knowledge Children Have of Numbers
The academic achievement of nine-year-olds has been strongly linked to the knowledge that children have of numbers, as well as to their ability to copy and use symbols, as they enter school at the age of 5.
Longitudinal data show that children who had significantly higher scores on these two measures of school readiness at the age of 5 also had high mathematics test scores at the age of 9.
In contrast, children who had lower scores on the two school readiness measures at the outset of school had lower mathematics test scores four years later.
The high achievers in mathematics at age 9 had also outscored the lower achievers at age 5 on a third measure of school readiness—the level of receptive, or understood, vocabulary.
This supports previous academic research that shows that the academic knowledge and skill that children bring to their first days of school contributes to their subsequent learning in early grades.
The Canadian government and most provincial and territorial governments in Canada collaborate in monitoring early childhood development in their jurisdictions. Where data are available, they report on indicators of child well-being, including school readiness, every two years.
Mathematics achievement at the age of 9
Nine-year-old children can be found in both grades 3 and 4 in Canada, depending on the school entry cut-off date of their province of residence. Their mathematics achievement at the age of 9 was assessed using a mathematics computation test that was appropriate for the school grade of the child.
Students in both grades who had high number knowledge scores and high copying and symbol use scores at the age of 5 had high mathematics test scores at the age of 9. These scores were significantly higher than children who had low readiness scores at the age of 5.
Similarly, those in grade 3 with high receptive vocabulary scores at age 5 had higher mathematics achievement at age 9 than children with low receptive vocabulary scores.
The trend for receptive vocabulary was similar for those in grade 4, but the difference did not reach statistical significance.
These trends appeared for both boys and girls and for children from very low income and higher income households.
Achievement in mathematics not associated with gender or income
Earlier research showed that girls and boys differed in important ways in their readiness to learn as they entered school at the age of 5. Girls outperformed boys in several areas.
However, new analysis shows that boys and girls did not differ in mathematics achievement by the time they were aged 9 in either grades 3 or 4.
Children from very low income households scored somewhat lower than those in higher income households in mathematics achievement in both grades. However, the differences did not reach statistical significance.
Repeating a grade, special education and tutoring were linked to school readiness
One indicator of how well a child is doing in school is whether the child has repeated a grade. By the age of 9, 4% of children had repeated a grade.
Nine-year-old children who had repeated a grade had lower scores than non-repeaters on the three school readiness measures four years earlier.
Additional indicators of school achievement at the age of 9 included whether the child was in a special education program, and whether he or she was receiving additional help or tutoring.
About 4% of 9-year-old students were enrolled in a special education program, while 21% were receiving extra help or tutoring.
Students who were enrolled in special education programs at the age of 9, and those who were receiving additional help or tutoring, had lower scores than other children at the age of 5 in all three school readiness measures.
Source : Statistics Canada.
Nov. 24, 2008.
