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from the probably-where-I-went-wrong dept.
Educators, policymakers, and parents have begun to focus more on children's math learning in the earliest years. Yet parents and teachers still find it challenging to know which kinds of early math skills merit attention in the classroom. Determining how to help children achieve in math is important, particularly for children from low-income families who often enter school with weaker math knowledge than their peers. A new longitudinal study conducted in Tennessee has found that low-income children's math knowledge in preschool was related to their later achievement—but not all types of math knowledge were related equally. The findings suggest that educators and school administrators may want to consider carefully which areas of math study they shift attention to as they develop curricula for the early years.
Conducted by researchers at Vanderbilt University, the study appears in the journal Child Development.
The study followed 517 low-income children from ages 4 to 11; the children were primarily Black and all qualified for free or reduced-price lunch, a measure of poverty. When the children were in the last year of preschool and near the end of first grade, researchers tested general skills (including self-regulated behavior, work-related skills, and reading) and six math skills (patterning, counting objects, comparing quantities, understanding written numbers, calculating, and understanding shapes). When the children were at the end of fifth grade, researchers tested a range of math knowledge, including knowledge about numbers, algebra, and geometry. The aim of the study was to determine whether children's math skills at ages 4 and 5 predicted their math achievement at age 11.
Preschool math skills supported first-grade math skills, which in turn supported fifth-grade math knowledge, according to the study. In preschool, children's skills in patterning, comparing quantities, and counting objects were stronger predictors of their math achievement in fifth grade than other skills, the study found. By first grade, patterning remained important, and understanding written numbers and calculating emerged as important predictors of later achievement.
(Score: 1) by kurenai.tsubasa on Wednesday December 07 2016, @02:38PM
You proposed a good pass/fail test above. See if they can make change for a $10 bill. Then throw a total of $7.85 at them where the customer pays with a $10 and a dime, etc.
I think one problem is we have these big nebulous categories like “reading” or “maths.” So then we get nebulous advice such as students need to spend more time learning reading! Students need to be better at maths! Which math?! Reading what?! So I'd propose instead of humongous standardized tests—I wonder if test week is still the week you get OJ at your desk because research shows that OJ gives a +2 to int and you also get to listen to classical music since that gives another +2 to int— why not smaller pass/fail tests to establish overall progress like making change?
As far as letter grade, I'm of a divided mind about that. Maybe if we go with, at the elementary level, a progression of those small tests. Get rid of the OMG it's test week! Then create some criteria such as an A student can make change in all situations within say 30 seconds, can summarize a story in their own words, and can name the capital of any given state. Degrade from there until we get to F which would represent current high school graduate ability lol.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday December 07 2016, @03:27PM
You remind me of a once common occurrence. My bill comes to $7.25, so I offer a ten dollar bill, and a quarter, expecting three dollar bills in return. At some point in time, the understanding that I would prefer to get a quarter OUT OF my pocket, instead of putting three additional quarters INTO my pocket was lost. Nowadays, the kid at the register just looks at you crosseyed, like he thinks you're retarded. He will make change for that ten dollar bill, then push the quarter back across the counter at you. I guess he doesn't know how to punch 10.25 into his computerized cash register.
And, that kind of stupidity has influenced the size of the tip I may have left. Good grief, why reward stupidity?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 08 2016, @03:30AM
Gee, that doesn't happen to me -- Western NY State. Move to a smarter part of the country. Maybe that's what it will take to improve your attitude(grin>).
I'm always handing the "cents" part to cashiers (kids, adults, whoever) and they always get it right.