ERIC Number: ED566266
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2016
Pages: 40
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Early Math Trajectories: Low-Income Children's Mathematics Knowledge from Age 4 to 11
Rittle-Johnson, Bethany; Fyfe, Emily R.; Hofer, Kerry G.; Farran, Dale C.
Grantee Submission
Early mathematics knowledge is a strong predictor of later academic achievement, but children from low-income families enter school with weak mathematics knowledge. An Early Math Trajectories model is proposed and evaluated within a longitudinal study of 517 low-income American children from age 4 to 11. This model includes a broad range of math topics, as well as potential pathways from preschool to middle-grades mathematics achievement. In preschool, nonsymbolic quantity, counting and patterning knowledge predicted fifth-grade mathematics achievement. By the end of first grade, symbolic mapping, calculation and patterning knowledge were the important predictors. Further, the first-grade predictors mediated the relation between preschool math knowledge and fifth-grade mathematics achievement. Findings support the Early Math Trajectories model among low-income children. [At time of submission to ERIC this article was in press with "Child Development."]
Descriptors: Low Income Groups, Mathematics Achievement, Knowledge Level, Children, Preadolescents, Elementary School Students, Preschool Children, Middle School Students, Mathematical Concepts, Age Differences, Longitudinal Studies, Hypothesis Testing, Predictor Variables, Urban Schools, Standardized Tests, Achievement Tests
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Journal Articles
Education Level: Elementary Education; Middle Schools; Secondary Education; Junior High Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Institute of Education Sciences (ED); National Science Foundation (NSF); Heising-Simons Foundation
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Tennessee
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Woodcock Johnson Tests of Achievement
IES Funded: Yes