ABSTRACT
The importance of a sound introduction to mathematics in the early years is buttressed by recent research results that demonstrate the predictive power of early mathematics for later academic and career success (Claessens, Duncan, & Engel, 2009; Duncan et al., 2007; Geary, Hoard, Nugent, & Bailey, 2013; Ritchie & Bates, 2013). In 2007, Duncan et al. identified mathematics skills at kindergarten entry as the best predictor of school achievement, and that this finding was consistent for both boys and girls from high and low socioeconomic backgrounds. More recently, in a tracking study of 1,364 children from 54 months to the age of 15, Watts, Duncan, Siegler and Davis-Kean (2014) found that there were “statistically significant associations between preschool mathematical ability and adolescent mathematics achievement;” moreover, “gains in mathematical knowledge from preschool through first grade are even more predictive of age 15 mathematics achievement than preschool knowledge” (p. 352). Reading and working memory, by comparison, were found to be less predictive of later achievement. Together, these studies strongly indicate that high-quality mathematics learning opportunities, prior to formal schooling and in the first years of school, are crucial.
