Grade Math Achievement Research Articles

Parenting beliefs and practices as precursors to academic outcomes in Chinese children.

Due to the rapid sociocultural changes in China, Chinese parents' childrearing beliefs and practices have undergone dramatic transformations. Against this context, this study examined whether Chinese parents' endorsement of progressive and traditional childrearing beliefs would predict children's academic achievement, as well as whether parenting practices would mediate this association. This study utilized a longitudinal design and followed 206 Chinese families for 2 years from the end of preschool to Grade 2. Parents showed greater endorsement of progressive than traditional childrearing beliefs, as well as higher use of authoritative than authoritarian parenting practices. Parents' childrearing beliefs in preschool predicted children's math achievement in Grade 2 via authoritative parenting. However, parenting beliefs were unrelated to authoritarian parenting, and authoritarian parenting did not predict any of the child academic outcomes in Grade 2. The findings suggest Chinese parents' orientations toward progressive parenting beliefs and authoritative parenting practices. They also highlight the utility of parenting beliefs in explaining disparities in early academic achievement. The nonsignificant findings pertinent to authoritarian parenting call for re-examination of the cultural meaning and effects of authoritarian parenting in Chinese society.

Measuring the Efficacy of Zearn Math in Louisiana

This study examines the impact of an online math learning program on third through fifth grade math achievement in Louisiana. Employing Zearn Math usage metrics and administrative data from the Louisiana Department of Education, the results indicate that grade levels that programmatically used Zearn Math scored, on average, about .03 standard deviation units higher on Louisiana’s statewide math assessment. A placebo test using English-language arts scores and several robustness checks suggests that this may be an underestimate of the true effect. These findings come at a crucial time because pandemic-related school closures have led to a 20-fold increase in public school spending on Zearn-related materials between July 2019 and July 2021, and its presence continues to expand across the nation.

A longitudinal examination of the relations between motivation, math achievement, and STEM career aspirations among Black students

The current study explored individual and gendered differences in Black students’ motivation for learning mathematics using three key Situated Expectancy-Value Theory (SEVT) constructs (expectancies of success, interest, and importance). It also evaluated whether math motivational profiles in 6th grade or 10th grade predicted math achievement and STEM career aspirations in 10th grade among Black students while controlling for prior math achievement. Black students (n = 408, 55% female) attending schools in a metropolitan area of Tennessee, USA and mostly from families surviving economic marginalization completed surveys and math achievement assessments across middle and high school. Latent Profile Analysis identified three profiles of math motivation in 6th grade, including a profile of high motivation across constructs, and Black girls were less likely to be in the high motivational profile than Black boys. Profile membership in 6th grade predicted 10th grade math achievement. In contrast, math motivation profiles in 6th grade did not predict STEM career aspirations in 10th grade. Parallel analyses for concurrent relations in 10th grade were similar, except that there were no gender differences in profile prevalence. Overall, findings suggest that SEVT is useful for understanding motivation and academic performance among Black students when a person-centered analytic approach is used, but more work is needed to expand the theory to understand the development of Black students’ STEM career aspirations.

Early self-control and sustained attention problems: Associations with youth achievement, motivation, and engagement

Research has yet to understand the extent to which early indicators of self-control and sustained attention are associated with long-term measures of academic motivation and engagement in adolescence. Furthermore, multi-informant assessments of self-control and sustained attention are rarely considered. Using a longitudinal sample (N = 1364 children), teacher and mother reports and direct assessments of self-control and sustained attention problems in early childhood were examined for associations with achievement, motivation, and engagement at age 15, both before and after controlling for early measures of achievement. Teacher ratings and direct assessments predicted achievement, while maternal ratings of self-control predicted engagement. After controlling for early achievement, most longitudinal associations with achievement were reduced to nonsignificance. Only the pathways modeling teacher-rated sustained attention problems onto achievement and maternal ratings of self-control onto engagement remained. Fifth grade math achievement mediated the association between teacher-rated attention problems and adolescent achievement. Implications of findings are discussed.

Impacts of the four-day school week on high school achievement and educational engagement

ABSTRACT Four-day school week schedules are being adopted with increasing frequency, particularly in rural areas. In this paper, we consider the academic implications of students in Oregon attending a four-day school week for the first time when they enter high school. We find 11th grade math achievement in 0.09 standard deviations lower among four-day school week students, with significant impacts driven by four-day school week students in non-rural settings. We also find a greater number of four-day school week students being classified as chronically absent. Finally, we find reductions in on-time graduation among four-day school week students compared to five-day students.

Kindergarteners' symbolic number abilities predict nonsymbolic number abilities and math achievement in grade 1.

Research has shown that two different, though related, ways of representing magnitude play foundational roles in the development of numerical and mathematical skills: a nonverbal approximate number system and an exact symbolic number system. While there have been numerous studies suggesting that the two systems are important predictors of math achievement, there has been substantial debate regarding whether and how these basic numerical competencies may be developmentally interrelated. Specifically, the causal direction of their relation has been the subject of debate: whether children's approximate number abilities predict later symbolic number abilities (the mapping account) or the other way around (the refinement account). Our sample included 622 kindergarten children (mean age = 62 months, SD = 3.5, 279 females, 75 born outside Canada), whose dot comparison, number comparison, and mixed comparison skills were assessed over three time-points and math achievement assessed over four time-points. We contrasted multiple theoretical predictions of the interrelations between the variables of interest posited by these two developmental accounts using longitudinal random intercept cross-lagged models. Results were most consistent with the refinement account, suggesting that earlier symbolic number ability is consistently the strongest predictor of approximate number ability, mixed-comparison ability, and arithmetic skills. Notably, our results demonstrated that, when individual models are examined in isolation, model fit was adequate or near adequate for all models tested. This highlights the need for future research to contrast competing accounts, as our results suggest the examination of any one account in isolation may not reveal the best fitting developmental model. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Supplemental Material for Kindergarteners’ Symbolic Number Abilities Predict Nonsymbolic Number Abilities and Math Achievement in Grade 1

Supplemental Material for Kindergarteners’ Symbolic Number Abilities Predict Nonsymbolic Number Abilities and Math Achievement in Grade 1

Direct and indirect pathways from children’s early self-regulation to academic achievement in fifth grade in Norway

A large body of research has documented the role of self-regulation in academic skill development for young children. However, few studies have investigated longitudinal and indirect effects from kindergarten through later elementary school. In this longitudinal Norwegian study, we investigated pathways from children’s self-regulation in kindergarten (Mage = 5.8; N = 243, 49% girls), to language and math skills in first grade (N = 240) and reading comprehension and math achievement in fifth grade (N = 160). Self-regulation was measured with direct and teacher-reported assessments. Path models showed that both directly assessed and teacher-reported self-regulation in kindergarten predicted math skills but not vocabulary and phonological awareness skills in first grade. Teacher-reported self-regulation indirectly predicted fifth grade reading comprehension through first grade teacher-reported self-regulation, and directly assessed self-regulation predicted fifth grade math achievement through math skills and directly assessed self-regulation in first grade. When controlling for kindergarten self-regulation, both self-regulation measures in first grade predicted fifth grade reading and directly assessed self-regulation predicted math achievement. Findings elucidate the foundational role of early self-regulation for later academic achievement and the differential effects of directly assessed versus teacher-reported self-regulation in a Norwegian sample.

On-entry assessment of school competencies and academic achievement: a comparison between Slovenia and Germany

The foundation of school success is laid early in children’s lives. Consequently, assessments of academic precursors may help to identify children in need of additional support. Such early assessments could also be interesting from an international perspective when educational systems are compared. This analysis is used to inform on the comparability of Slovenian and German versions of the English on-school-entry assessment tool “Performance Indicators in Primary School” (PIPS; Tymms and Albone 2002). PIPS was also used to predict later academic achievement in the two national samples. The German sample consisted of 468 children with a mean age of about 6;6 years at school entry (48.7 % girls). In Slovenia, 328 children (49 % girls) were assessed (mean age of about 6;3 years at school entry). Multi-group confirmatory factor analyses for PIPS did not support weak measurement invariance. However, results indicated that the number of factors as well as the pattern of loadings seems to be comparable. Further research is needed to examine in which respects PIPS might work as a tool for international comparisons. Structural equation modelling indicated that PIPS can be used as a predictor of academic achievement and that overall academic achievement could be predicted best by early numeracy. PIPS measures of literacy and numeracy skills were specific and significant predictors of children’s later language and math achievement in grade 1.

PENGARUH PENGGUNAAN LEMBAR KERJA SISWA TERHADAP PRESTASI BELAJAR MATEMATIKA SISWA KELAS VII SMP N 2 GIRISUBO GUNUNGKIDUL TAHUN PELAJARAN 2013/2014

The purpose of this study was to identify trends in mathematics achievement of students of class VII SMP N 2 Girisubo Gunungkidul academic year 2013/2014.The population in this study were all students of class VII SMP N 2 Girisubo Gunungkidul consisting of four classes with a random sampling technique. Test the validity of the instrument items, level of difficulty, different power and reliability. Prerequisite test used test for normality of distribution and homogeneity of variance test data analysis using correlated t test. Comparatively no positive effect on the use of student worksheets grade mathematics achievement SMP N 2 Girisubo Gunungkidul academic year 2013/2014 t -4,457 < -t -1,713 table. Thus the method can improve the students' worksheets grade math achievement SMP N 2 Girisubo Gunungkidul academic year 2013/2014.

Predicting first-grade mathematics achievement: the contributions of domain-general cognitive abilities, nonverbal number sense, and early number competence.

Early number competence, grounded in number-specific and domain-general cognitive abilities, is theorized to lay the foundation for later math achievement. Few longitudinal studies have tested a comprehensive model for early math development. Using structural equation modeling and mediation analyses, the present work examined the influence of kindergarteners' nonverbal number sense and domain-general abilities (i.e., working memory, fluid intelligence, and receptive vocabulary) and their early number competence (i.e., symbolic number skills) on first grade math achievement (i.e., arithmetic, shape and space skills, and number line estimation) assessed 1 year later. Latent regression models revealed that nonverbal number sense and working memory are central building blocks for developing early number competence in kindergarten and that early number competence is key for first grade math achievement. After controlling for early number competence, fluid intelligence significantly predicted arithmetic and number line estimation while receptive vocabulary significantly predicted shape and space skills. In sum we suggest that early math achievement draws on different constellations of number-specific and domain-general mechanisms.

Examining the Influence of a Mobile Learning Intervention on Third Grade Math Achievement

Third grade students at a Midwestern elementary school participated in a 9-week mobile learning intervention (MLI). Two classrooms used Everyday Math and daily practice using flashcards, etc., to learn multiplication. Two other classrooms used Everyday Math and web applications for the iPod touch for daily practice. MLI students outperformed comparison students on a postintervention multiplication test controlling for several covariates, including prior achievement, home iPod touch use, and previous teacher, among others. The medium-sized performance advantage (b = .217) was statistically significant at the .01 alpha level. The MLI influence on the most difficult multiplication items was also statistically significant but less important than the student’s demographic profile and the teacher’s advanced educational technology degree. Experimental research is needed to assess longerterm achievement effects for diverse student groups and school settings and to explore how teaching and learning occurs in mobile environments above and beyond a particular device.

Neighborhood characteristics, parental practices and children’s math achievement in elementary school

This paper investigates the relationships among neighborhood characteristics, education-related parental practices, and children’s academic achievement during a critical but under-studied stage of children’s educational trajectories – the elementary school years. Using a large, nationally representative database of American elementary school students – the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study – Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K) – and contextual data from the 2000 US Census, we examine parental practices and neighborhood characteristics at the beginning of children’s school careers (grades K-1) and their associations with math achievement through the end of the 5th grade. Findings: Net of family-level characteristics, higher levels of early education-oriented parental practices were associated with higher mathematics achievement at the end of 5th grade, while neighborhood disadvantage was associated with lower 5th grade math achievement. Families residing in high poverty, high unemployment, low-education neighborhoods employed fewer education-oriented practices with their kindergarten-first grade children, but the positive effect of such parental practices on children’s mathematics achievement was stronger for children who live in disadvantaged neighborhoods.

How Well Does the Standards Movement Measure Up? An Analysis of Achievement Trends, Academic Course-taking, Student Learning, NCLB, and Changes in School Culture and Graduation Rates

This is the first of two papers examining the standards movement. In it, I review data from NAEP, the SAT, the international assessments, transcript studies, and NCLB assessments, as well as surveys and case studies of changes in curriculum and pedagogy. The picture is a bleak one. Over the past quarter century, achievement has stagnated, dropouts and aliteracy have grown, and large minority achievement gaps have persisted. The quality of student learning remains poor. School changes, stratified by class and race, have constricted instruction and harmed students and teachers. NCLB has made things worse, not better. Even in the two areas where the movement has achieved some success—lower grade math achievement and high school academic enrollments—the gains were largely superficial, other forces such as teaching-to-the-test and social promotion contributed, and serious deficiencies remain. In the second paper, “Why the Standards Movement Failed,” I examine the educational and political reasons for the failure—including its misconstruction of pedagogy and links to the neoliberal reform project—and propose a progressive alternative.

The impact of preprimary school on primary school achievement in Bangladesh

Abstract Evidence was collected regarding changes over 3 years in the quality of a preprimary program in rural Bangladesh and differences in school achievement of children who did and did not attend. The quality of 30 preprimary schools was evaluated using the ECERS-R (Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale – Revised) and ECERS-E (– Extension). Results indicated that the quality improved overall from 3.50 in 2006 to 5.24 in 2008. Samples of 180 graduates of these schools were annually followed into first and second grades and tested for five competencies: speaking, writing, reading, oral mathematics and written mathematics. Their achievement scores were compared with students in their classrooms and students in neighboring schools who did not have the opportunity to attend preprimary schools. First graders in 2008 performed significantly better than comparisons in all competencies, and better than earlier graduates. Second graders performed significantly better than comparisons on all but Reading. Qualities of the math preprimary program correlated with math achievement in Grade 1 only. Consequently the quality of the preprimary program improved over time along with higher achievement for its graduates. The findings support efforts to expand high-quality programs in developing countries to help children succeed in the early primary grades.

The Role of Schools, Families, and Psychological Variables on Math Achievement of Black High School Students

Using data from the National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS;1988/2000), the author conducted hierarchical linear regression analyses, with a nested design, to estimate the influence of affective variables–parent involvement, teacher perceptions, and school environments–on Black students' math achievement in grade 10. Drawing on Bronfenbrenner's (1979) ecological systems theory and Bourdieu's (1977) concept of cultural capital, the author found that all three systems affect Black students' math achievement, accounting for approximately 20% of the variance in scores. Key findings include the role that locus of control, gender, parental involvement, teacher perceptions, and opportunity to learn play on Black students' math achievement. Important implications for advancing future policy, practice, and research are highlighted. This study's results impact future agendas for maximizing the success of Black students in math.

Time to Work or Time to Play: The Effect of Student Employment on Homework, Housework, Screen Time, and Sleep

Although student employment may have some positive effects on students’ future earnings by providing work experience, some researchers have documented a small negative relationship between working while in high school and a student’s academic achievement. For example, Ruhm (1995, 1997) and Tyler (2003) found that student employment has a negative effect on both the number of years of schooling that students complete and their 12th grade math achievement. Oettinger (1999) found a decline in the grades of minority students who work long hours. Using U.K. data, Dustmann and Van Soest (2007) found that part-time work has a small negative effect on males’ exam performance. However, less emphasis has been placed on the mechanisms through which these effects occur. One hypothesis is that working students get less sleep. Oettinger (1999) suggested that students’ grades may suffer if they are fatigued from working long hours. Another hypothesis is that high school students who work do less homework, as found by Kalenkoski and Pabilonia (2009a). The latter may be particularly important given that Stinebrickner and Stinebrickner (2004) found a strong positive relationship between first-year college students’ study time and their grade point averages and Betts (1997) found that high school students who were assigned more homework had higher math scores. This paper uses data on high school students aged 15-18 from the 2003-2007 American Time Use Surveys (ATUS) to examine the effects of doing paid work on students’ major activities. Because class time is mandatory for enrolled students and because very little variation in such time is observed, we focus on activities outside of the classroom. In particular, we explore the effects of market work on the time students spend doing homework and sleeping (as time spent in these activities may affect their academic achievement), the time they spend doing household work (including care for younger siblings), and the time they spend using the

Do teacher characteristics matter? New results on the effects of teacher preparation on student achievement

Research fairly consistently demonstrates that teachers are an important measurable factor in student learning, yet few teacher characteristics are shown to be consistently related to student achievement. Using a state administrative dataset that matches individual students to their teachers over time, I find that math teachers’ undergraduate performance, as measured by GPA (overall, math, and math education) and course hours (math and math education), is predictive of 5th grade math achievement. The effects of the teacher characteristics are mediated by years of experience and vary according to student types.

Gender and Mathematics Achievement in China and the United States

This study examines the relationship between gender and mathematics achievement among students in China and the United States, with an emphasis on the gender gap among mathematically talented students. The results show that in neither the US nor China are there gender differences in eighth grade math-achievement test scores. In China, there are no gender differences in mean college entrance examination math scores among high-school seniors, while in America, the mean SAT-Math score among male high-school seniors has been consistently higher than those of their female counterparts. In both the US and China, there are gender differences among the top math performers on college entrance examinations; boys are over-represented. The Chinese national mathematics curriculum, well-trained teachers, beliefs by students and their parents that academic achievement is more a product of effort than of natural ability, a gender-neutral parental expectation for children’s education, and generous family spending on the education of girls are suggested as possible factors underlying the comparable performance of the Chinese female and male students. The sorting system at Chinese secondary school level and a cultural stereotype favoring boys in mathematics are suggested as possible contributors to the math-achievement gender gap found among the top Chinese high school seniors.

Predicting First–Grade Math Achievement from Developmental Number Sense Trajectories

Number sense development was tracked from the beginning of kindergarten through the middle of first grade, over six time points. Children ( n= 277) were then assessed on general math achievement at the end of first grade. Number sense performance in kindergarten, as well as number sense growth, accounted for 66 percent of the variance in first–grade math achievement. Background characteristics of income status, gender, age, and reading ability did not add explanatory variance over and above growth in number sense. Even at the beginning of kindergarten, number sense was highly correlated with end of first–grade math achievement ( r= 0.70). Clarifying the observed slope effect, general growth mixture modeling showed that children who started kindergarten with low number sense but made moderate gains by the middle of kindergarten had higher first–grade math achievement than children who started out with similarly low number sense with flat growth. The majority of children in the low/flat growth class were from low–income families. The findings indicate that screening early number sense development is useful for identifying children who will face later math difficulties or disabilities.