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Assessing Mathematical School Readiness.

ABSTRACT: Early math skills matter for later formal mathematical performances, academic and professional success. Accordingly, it is important to accurately assess mathematical school readiness (MSR) at the beginning of elementary school. This would help identifying children who are at risk of encountering difficulties in math and then stimulate their acquisition of mathematical skills as soon as possible. In the present study, we present a new test that allows professionals working with children (e.g., teachers, school psychologists, speech therapists, and school doctors) to assess children's MSR when they enter formal schooling in a simple, rapid and efficient manner. 346 children were assessed at the beginning of 1st Grade (6-to-7-year-olds) with a collective test assessing early mathematical abilities (T1). In addition, children's math skills were evaluated with classical curriculum math tests at T1 and a year later, in 2nd Grade (T2, 7-to-8-year-olds). After assessing internal consistency, three tasks were retained for the final version of the MSR test. Test performance confirmed to be essentially unidimensional and systematically related to the scores children obtained in classical tests in 1st and 2nd Grade. By using the present MSR test, it is possible to identify pupils at risk of developing low math skills right from the start of formal schooling in 1st Grade. Such a tool is needed, as children's level in math at school beginning (or school readiness) is known to be foundational for their future academic and professional carrier.

SUBMITTER: Mejias S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6543806 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Assessing Mathematical School Readiness.

Mejias Sandrine S Muller Claire C Schiltz Christine C

Frontiers in psychology 20190524

Early math skills matter for later formal mathematical performances, academic and professional success. Accordingly, it is important to accurately assess mathematical school readiness (MSR) at the beginning of elementary school. This would help identifying children who are at risk of encountering difficulties in math and then stimulate their acquisition of mathematical skills as soon as possible. In the present study, we present a new test that allows professionals working with children (e.g., t ...[more]

PMID: 31178794

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Project description:ObjectiveSchool readiness is a condition or state indicating that the child is ready to learn in a formal educational set-up. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of and factors associated with school readiness in urban schoolchildren in Ujjain, India.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted from February 2016 to March 2017. Two English-medium schools were conveniently selected. All children aged 5-7 years were eligible to participate. A subscale of Differential Ability Scales-Second Edition, namely 'school readiness scale', was used to assess school readiness in three major domains-early number concept, matching letter-like forms and phonological processing. Data on factors associated with school readiness were collected through parent interview. Quantile regression analysis was used to explore school readiness scores.ResultsThis study included 203 school-going children (105 boys and 98 girls) having a mean (SD) age of 67.7 (±0.51) months. The phonological processing and matching letter-like forms had 31.5% and 30.5% children, respectively, in lower quantiles (≤25th). The higher quantile (≥75th) scores were achieved for phonological processing and early number concept (47.7% and 44.8% children, respectively). The results of quantile regression showed negative association of school readiness scores with age of children, lower socioeconomic status and hospitalisation status, especially in the lower quantiles (≤25th). The 10th, 50th and 75th quantile scores were positively correlated with the increasing education status of the mother. Birth weight was positively associated with the median and higher quantile scores (≥75th).ConclusionsSchool readiness in a middle-class urban setting in India was negatively associated with lower age of the child, lower socioeconomic status, hospitalisation and positively correlated with increasing birth weight and maternal education. Lower quantile scores were achieved in matching letter-like forms, which measures complex visual-spatial processing, and phonological ability, which correlates with acquired verbal concepts. Focused interventions are needed to improve these skills.

Project description:ImportanceChildren born preterm may experience learning challenges at school. However, there is a paucity of data on the school readiness of these children as they prepare to begin grade 1.ObjectiveTo examine the association between prematurity and school readiness in a population-based cohort of children.Design, setting, and participantsThis cohort study was conducted in the province of Manitoba, Canada, and involved 2 cohorts of children in kindergarten at the time of data collection. The population-based cohort included children born between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2011, whose school readiness was assessed in kindergarten using the Early Development Instrument (EDI) data. The sibling cohort comprised children born preterm and their closest-in-age siblings born full term. Data were analyzed between March 12 and September 28, 2021.ExposuresPreterm birth, defined as gestational age (GA) less than 37 weeks.Main outcomes and measuresThe primary outcome was vulnerability in the EDI, defined as a score below the tenth percentile of the Canadian population norms for any 1 or more of the 5 EDI domains (physical health and well-being, social competence, emotional maturity, language and cognitive development, and communication skills and general knowledge). Logistic regression models were used to identify the factors associated with vulnerability in the EDI. P values were adjusted for multiplicity using the Simes false discovery method.ResultsOf 86 829 eligible children, 63 277 were included, of whom 4352 were preterm (mean [SD] GA, 34 [2] weeks; 2315 boys [53%]) and 58 925 were full term (mean [SD] GA, 39 (1) weeks; 29 885 boys [51%]). Overall, 35% of children (1536 of 4352) born preterm were vulnerable in the EDI compared with 28% of children (16 449 of 58 925) born full term (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 1.32; 95% CI, 1.23-1.41; P < .001]). Compared with children born full term, those born preterm had a higher percentage of vulnerability in each of the 5 EDI domains. In the population-based cohort, prematurity (34-36 weeks' GA: AOR, 1.23 [95% CI, 1.14-1.33]; <34 weeks' GA: AOR, 1.72 [95% CI, 1.48-1.99]), male sex (AOR, 2.24; 95% CI, 2.16-2.33), small for gestational age (AOR, 1.31; 95% CI, 1.23-1.40), and various maternal medical and sociodemographic factors were associated with EDI vulnerability. In the sibling cohort, EDI outcomes were similar for both children born preterm and their siblings born full term except for the communication skills and general knowledge domain (AOR, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.07-1.80) and Multiple Challenge Index (AOR, 1.43; 95% CI, 1.06-1.92), whereas male sex (AOR, 2.19; 95% CI, 1.62-2.96) and maternal age at delivery (AOR, 1.53; 95% CI, 1.38-1.70) were associated with EDI vulnerability.Conclusions and relevanceResults of this study suggest that, in a population-based cohort, children born preterm had a lower school-readiness rate than children born full term, but this difference was not observed in the sibling cohort. Child and maternal factors were associated with lack of school readiness among this population-based cohort.

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Assessing Mathematical School Readiness.

Publications

Assessing Mathematical School Readiness.

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