This study uses nationally representative data from the US Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (ECLS - B) to examine the magnitude of SES gradients in reading and math
ability at kindergarten entry and the independent contribution of factors in the family background, health, home learning, parenting, and early education domains to these gradients.
OBJECTIVE: To examine how gradients in socioeconomic status (SES) impact US children's reading and math
ability at kindergarten entry and determine the contributions of family background, health, home learning, parenting, and early education factors to those gradients.
Table 3 shows the full specification results of the linear regression models predicting reading and math
ability at kindergarten entry.
A recent investigation from the UK Millennium Cohort Study found that a variety of parenting, home learning, and early education factors explained a small portion of the socioeconomic status (SES) gradients in children's cognitive ability by age 5.2 Although some US studies have examined selected factors at different stages of childhood, 24 — 27 few have had comprehensive data to examine the socioeconomic distribution of a wide variety of risk and protective factors across early childhood and their role as potential independent mediators of the SES gradients in cognitive
ability at kindergarten entry.
Figure 1 reveals steep SES gradients in US children's reading and math
ability at kindergarten entry.
Previous research has established steep socioeconomic status gradients in children's cognitive
ability at kindergarten entry.
Many factors including maternal age and household composition, maternal and early childhood health, key elements of the home environment (family routines, parent - child interaction, parent aspirations), and experiences in preschool and early learning activities partially mediate SES gradients in US children's cognitive
ability at kindergarten entry.
Linear Regression Models Predicting Child Reading and Math
Ability at Kindergarten Entry, ECLS - B Study, 2001 — 2007 (N = 6600)
These achievement gaps are concerning: Math and reading
abilities at kindergarten entry are powerful predictors of later school success, and children who enter kindergarten already behind are unlikely to catch up.
Not exact matches
They will more likely demonstrate early mathematic skills, such as an understanding of numbers
at an early age and the
ability to add, subtract, and even multiply long before their age mates, often before they start
kindergarten.
Choi, Christine Lippard, an assistant professor of human development and family studies
at Iowa State; and Shinyoung Jeon, a postdoctoral research fellow
at the University of Oklahoma - Tulsa, analyzed data measuring inhibitory control (the
ability to pay attention and control natural, but unnecessary thoughts or behaviors) and math achievement for low - income students in Head Start through
kindergarten.
Likewise, 50 percent of the differences among these children in their print and phonological skills
at the end of
kindergarten could be predicted from these same
abilities measured
at the end of their pre-K year in Head Start.
The guidelines will provide for a sequential course of study for each of the grades
kindergarten through 12 and must include,
at a minimum, the following: (1) knowledge of the research process and how information is created and produced; (2) skills in using information resources and critical thinking about those resources; (3) the
abilities to evaluate information critically and competently, to recognize relevant primary and secondary information, and to distinguish among facts, points of view, and opinions; (4) access to information and information tools; and (5) an understanding of economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information, and how to use information ethically and legally.
Kindergarten and first - grade teachers striving to enhance their
ability to meet individual student's needs in mathematics have a valuable new tool
at their disposal.
Individual achievement test scores can be misleading
at the pre-school and
kindergarten levels, if the child is already reading and doing arithmetic — these
abilities are not expected in this age group, so precocious readers or mathies will score significantly above their age level, just because they are precocious readers or mathies.
Year 2 results were not included for
kindergarten; however, all subtests for students with lower
abilities were significant, with the exception of spatial
abilities.First grade overall test results were significant for the low groups
at.000; second grade results were significant
at.001; and third grade results were higher overall for students with lower
abilities.
Math skills
at kindergarten entry (the
ability to recognize numbers, problem solve, use reasoning skills, and apply knowledge) are increasingly seen as an even better predictor of later academic success than early reading
ability.
Check out this post from GO Public Schools Leadership Center where Emma gives her thoughts on that study's finding that «students» level of tiredness, hunger or illness
at school was most strongly associated with the level of students»
ability to learn as they began
kindergarten.»
But it was something I gave him credit for as I had never seen any of his predecessors look
at DCPS as a whole system providing the continuum for accumulating knowledge, skills, and
abilities from the
kindergarten level step by step or grade by grade up to graduation.
At a time when schools are under increasing pressure to teach tougher standards (known as the Common Core) and begin the path to college readiness in
kindergarten, this school, and several others around the city, are taking care of kids» emotional and physical needs as a route to improving their
ability to learn.
• Known for providing individual and small - group instruction to
kindergarten students, aimed
at meeting their intellectual
abilities • Proficient in monitoring students with a view to keep them
at task and maintaining order in classrooms • Competent
at assisting children with special needs to meet their objectives and integrate smoothly in with other students • Special talent for assessing students and documenting their individual needs, targeted
at assisting them with their limitations
Head Start for Kent County wants all children entering
kindergarten with a love for learning, the
ability to work with others, and a fund of knowledge that will place them
at or above the expected learning level.