Early Math Skills from Prekindergarten to First Grade: Score Changes and Ability Group Differences in (original) (raw)

Chinese Children Excel on Novel Mathematics Problems Even Before Elementary School

Psychological Science, 2008

Kindergartners in China showed greater numerical knowledge than their age peers in the United States, not only when tested with arithmetic problems, which Chinese parents present to their children more often than U.S. parents do, but also when tested with number-line estimation problems, which were novel to the children in both countries. The Chinese kindergartners' number-line estimates were comparable to those of U.S. children 1 to 2 years more advanced in school. Individual differences in arithmetic and number-line-estimation performance were positively correlated within each country. These results indicate that performance differences between Chinese and U.S. children on both practiced and unpracticed mathematical tasks are substantial even before the children begin elementary school.

Cultural differences in early math skills among U.S., Taiwanese, Dutch, and Peruvian preschoolers

International Journal of Early Years Education, 2011

East Asian children have consistently outperformed children from other nations on mathematical tests. However, most previous cross-cultural studies mainly compared East Asian countries and the United States and have largely ignored cultures from other parts of the world. The present study explored cultural differences in young children's early math competency prior to their school entry among U.S., Taiwanese, Dutch, and Peruvian four-year-olds. Results showed that the Taiwanese children performed better than U.S., Peruvian, and Dutch children. No difference was found between U.S., Peruvian and Dutch children. In addition, results revealed that more Taiwanese four-year-olds were able to count up to at least 21 when compared with children from the other three countries. We discuss varying cultural factors (e.g. language and parental support) as contributing reasons for East Asian children's high mathematical skills at an early age.