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Copyright © 2012
American Institutes
for Research.
All rights reserved.
The Effect of Early Language
Development on First Grade
Mathematics Achievement
Victoria E. Rankin, Ph.D.
National Black Child Development Institute 42nd Annual Conference
October 2012
2
Introduction
• Mathematics is a ‘gatekeeper’
• Advantages of math skills:
Personal use
General employment
Access to specialty fields, e.g., STEM
3
The Common Discourse
The Achievement Gap:
Black children lag behind white
children
Latino children lag behind white
children
Asian children surpass white children
4
NAEP Data Grade 4 Mathematics
5
The Real Problem
ALL of our children need to reach a
common level of academic excellence
6
TIMSS Data Grade 4 Mathematics
TIMSS Scale Average 500
Country Average score
TIMSS scale average 500 Hong Kong SAR 607 Singapore 599 Chinese Taipei 576 Japan 568 Kazakhstan 549 Russian Federation 544 England 541 Latvia 537 Netherlands 535 Lithuania 530 United States 529 Germany 525 Denmark 523 Australia 516 Hungary 510
SOURCE: International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), Trends in
International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), 2007.
7
Why This Study?
•Examination of the importance of math
in research studies
•Multitude of studies that examine the
correlation between English Language
Learners and math achievement
•What about native speakers of English?
8
Focus of This Study
• Language
• The method through which teaching and
learning occurs
• A factor in mathematics achievement
• Early language development of native
speakers of English achievement in
mathematics
9
Background of Study
• National Institute of Child Health and
Human Development (NICHD) data
• 1364 children and their families at 10
locations across the U.S.
• Sample size: 1273 Black and White
children at 54 months of age and at 1st
grade
•Measures
•Regression analysis
10
Summary of Findings at 54 Months
• Mathematics Achievement Predictors
Race--explains12% of the variance
Adding the Preschool Language Scale
(PLS-3) scores to the model explains
50% of the variance
Mother’s Education—significant, but
doesn’t increase explanatory power of
model
11
Summary of Findings at First Grade
• Mathematics Achievement Predictors
Race explains 8% of the variance
Adding PLS-3 scores explains 31% of
the variance
Adding prior mathematics achievement
to the model explains 40%
Adding gender to the model explains
43%
12
Why it Matters
• For native speakers of English,
language is an important
component of mathematics
achievement
• Education initiatives, e.g., Common
Core State Standards
• How can we improve outcomes in
mathematics?
13
Common Core State Standards:
Mathematical Practices
The CCSS has 8 practice standards:
•Make sense of problems and persevere in
solving them
•Reasoning abstractly and quantitatively
•Construct viable arguments and critique
the reasoning of others
•Model with mathematics
14
Common Core State Standards:
Mathematical Practices
•Use appropriate tools strategically
•Attend to precision
•Look for and make use of structure
•Look for and express regularity in repeated
reasoning
15
Common Core State Standards
Common Core math language includes:
•Comparisons
•Taking apart and putting together
•Use of symbols
•Representation
•The unknown
•One- and two digits
16
How Can We Improve Outcomes in
Mathematics?
To progress in math, your child must
acquire several conceptual building blocks:
• Numbers and counting to 100
• The language used in math, from concepts such
as measurement and money to the technical
• Vocabulary of math, such as greater than, less
than, add, subtract, difference, and sum
• An understanding of ratio and proportion
• Recognizing colors, shapes, and patterns
Source: http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_State_Maryland/
17
Home-based Activities to Develop Language used in Mathematics
Concept/Skill Math CCSS Practice
Standard
Exercise: Use of
Language/Activities
Addition (plus, in all, how
many, equal, altogether)
Attend to precision;
Make sense of problems
Subtraction (take-away, take-
apart, minus, the unknown)
Attend to precision;
Make sense of problems
Multiplication (times, groups,
altogether, equally)
Look for and make use of
structure
Whole numbers (tens, ones,
comparisons, one- and two
digits)
Reason abstractly and
quantitatively
Shapes (symbols, triangles,
part-whole)
Look for and make use of
structure
18
What You Can Do
•Expose children to “academic language”
•Build their vocabulary
•Talk with them about numbers, money,
mathematical functions, time, shapes,
symbols, structures
•Engage them
•Expose them
19
Questions and Comments
Thank you!
20
References
• Aiken, L. R. (1972, Summer). Language factors in learning
mathematics. Review of Educational Research, 42, 3, 359-
385.
• Adams, T. L. (2003). Reading mathematics: More than words
can say. The Reading Teacher, 56, 8, 786-795.
• Ginsberg, H. P., Lee, J. S., & Boyd, J. S. (2008). Mathematics
education for young children: What is it and how to
promote it. SRCD Social Policy Report, 12, 1, 3-22.
• Lee, J., Grigg, W., and Dion, G. (2007). The nation’s report card:
Mathematics 2007 (NCES 2007-494). Washington, DC:
National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of
Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.
21
References
• Lubienski, S.T. (2002). A closer look at black-white mathematics
gaps: Intersections of race and SES in NAEP achievement
and instructional practices data. The Journal of Negro
Education, 71, 4, 269-287.
• Mehan, H. (July 1984). Language and schooling. Sociology of
Education, 57, 174-183.
