Students’ Mathematics Learning from Kindergarten through 8th Grade
Students’ Mathematics Learning from Kindergarten through 8 th Grade: The Long-Term Influence of School Readiness Abstract We employed a large nationally representative data set for the U.S. elementary school students, the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study - Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K), to investigate the relationships between school readiness, measured in the fall of kindergarten, and students’ mathematics learning during the elementary and middle school years, including 8 th -grade math course-taking. Main findings : School readiness (math and reading scores, and approaches to learning) showed a strong positive relationship with math scores at the end of each tested grade (1 st , 3 rd , 5 th , and 8 th ). Students who entered kindergarten with higher math score tended to show a lower rate of math growth. Higher school readiness was strongly and positively associated with a likelihood that a student is taking Algebra I or above in 8 th grade. Findings suggest that for minority students and students from lower SES backgrounds, improved school readiness would increase their math achievement.