The Long Reach of
Early Math Skills
Greg J. Duncan
School of Education
University of California, Irvine
How important are math skills for
school achievement, completed
schooling and labor market
success?
How well does kindergarten
math teaching line up with what
children need to learn?
What skills and behaviors
matter most for success
in school?
Skills and Behaviors
Achievement
Engagement/
Attention
Problem
Behaviors
Description:
Concrete math
and reading
skills
Ability to control
impulses and focus
on tasks
i) Ability to get
along with
others
ii) Sound mental
health
Example
test areas
or question
wording:
Knowing letters
and numbers;
beginning word
sounds, word
problems
Can’t sit still; can’t
concentrate; score
from a computer
test of impulse
control
i) Cheats or tells
lies, bullies, is
disobedient at
school
ii) Is sad, moody
Which gaps are biggest
when children enter
school?
Skill and behavior gaps between high- and low-income
kindergarteners
+106
+53
-27
-30
School
engagement
-100
Math
achievement
Anti-social
behavior
Mental
health
problems
Kindergarten gap
5th grade gap
Source: Early Childhood Longitudinal Study – Kindergarten cohort.
Skill and behavior gaps between high- and low-income
kindergarteners and fifth graders
+106
+121
+53 +59
-27
-30
-42
School
engagement
-100
Math
achievement
Anti-social
behavior
Mental
health
problems
Kindergarten gap
5th grade gap
Source: Early Childhood Longitudinal Study – Kindergarten cohort.
-31
How important are school-entry
math skills for school
achievement?
How important are K-5 math skills
for completed schooling?
How important are adolescent math
skills for labor market success?
Effects of school-entry skills and
behaviors on later achievement
Reading
Math
Engagement
Anti-social
Mental health
0
0
10
20
30
40
Effects of school-entry skills and
behaviors on later achievement
Mental health
Anti-social
Math
Engagement
Reading
0
0
10
20
30
40
How much time do
kindergarten teachers
spend teaching math and
literacy?
Kindergarten teaching – hours/wk
All teachers
Teachers in
low-income
schools
Reading
4.9
5.0
Math
3.1
3.1
How does math teaching
in kindergarten line up
with children’s
proficiency levels?
Kindergarten student mastery vs.
time spent teaching
Mastery by Fall K
Basic Counting
& Shapes
Patterns &
Measurement
Place value &
Currency
Addition &
Subtraction
95%
62%
25%
7%
11,517 students
2,176 teachers
Kindergarten student mastery vs.
time spent teaching
Basic Counting
& Shapes
Patterns &
Measurement
Place value &
Currency
Addition &
Subtraction
Mastery by Fall K
Mean Days/Month
spent teaching
95%
12.70
62%
7.68
25%
8.61
7%
4.38
11,517 students
2,176 teachers
How is growth in
kindergarteners’ math
affected by basic and
advanced instruction?
Basic math
instruction time
Basic math
+.065
Advanced math
Advanced math
instruction time
-.041
0
Math learning in kindergarten
Instruction time and math achievement
All students
Low-income students only
Source: Claessens and Engel (under review)
Basic math
instruction time
Basic math
-.041
+.065
+.056
Advanced math
-.029
Advanced math
instruction time
0
Math learning in kindergarten
Instruction time and math achievement
All students
Low-income students only
Source: Claessens and Engel (under review)
How important are school-entry
math skills for school
achievement?
How important are K-5 math skills
for completed schooling?
How important are adolescent math
skills for labor market success?
Effects of K-5 skills and behaviors on
completed schooling
Reading
Math
Attention
Anti-social
0
0
10
20
Effects of K-5 skills and behaviors on
completed schooling
Anti-social
Attention
Reading
Math
0
0
10
20
How important are school-entry
math skills for school
achievement?
How important are K-5 math skills
for completed schooling?
How important are adolescent math
skills for labor market success?
Effects of adolescent skills and behaviors
on earnings
Reading
Math
Anti-social
Attention
Anxiety
0
0
10
20
Effects of adolescent skills and behaviors
on earnings
Anxiety
Anti-social
Attention
Reading
Math
0
0
10
20
Why math?
(preliminary)
• Motivational story:
• Math feedback is very concrete
• Kids who don’t master math don’t
think they are good at math or good at
school
Why math (con’t)?
• Structural story:
• teachers and schools provide extra
opportunities for early math achievers?
• moderate math skills keeps kids out
of special education?
Why math (con’t)?
• Cognitive skill story:
•
math may structure thinking in ways
that help students learn both higherlevel math and other skills
• Building Blocks impacts on four oral
language subtests: ability to recall key
words, use of complex utterances,
willingness to reproduce narratives
independently, and inferential reasoning
Summary
• Early math is surprisingly important
• Kindergarten teachers spend much
less time on math than reading
• Early math instruction is geared toward
skills kids already know
• Math is also highly predictive of
completed schooling and earnings
Greg J. Duncan
gduncan@uci.edu
School of Education
University of California, Irvine