Math content and kindergarten learning

Math content and kindergarten learning
 
Research by Claessens, Engel, & Curran (2014) found that addressing advanced math skills in kindergarten (place value, addition, and subtraction) yielded greater gains than solely addressing basic math skills (simple counting and shape recognition), even for students who did not attend pre-k. As kindergarten becomes increasingly academic, the researchers expanded on this finding by studying whether basic or advanced math skills are most commonly being taught in kindergarten.  In a recent article in Educational Researcher, Engel, Claessens, Watts, & Farkas examined data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS), Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (n=17,810) and the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 (n=15,090). Both were longitudinal, nationally representative studies conducted by the National Center for Educational Statistics.

The researchers examined student achievement at kindergarten entry and again in the spring, near the end of kindergarten. Although teachers in ECLS 2011 reported more days teaching advanced topics than teachers in ECLS 1999, teachers in both ECLS cohorts spent more days teaching simple math content than more complex math content. The authors suggest that kindergartners would make increased math gains given more exposure to advanced math topics than is current practice.

Johns Hopkins University 

Research in Brief

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